Preserved Bulleid WC/BB 'West Country' and
'Battle of Britain' class 4-6-2
| These two classes have a popular following and we are fortunate that ten have been preserved or are awaiting restoration in their as-original condition (listed in their BR numbering): 34007 Wadebridge, 34023 Blackmore Vale, 34051 Winston Churchill, 34067 Tangmere, 34072 257 Squadron, 34070 Manston, 34073 249 Squadron, 34081 92 Squadron, 34092 City of Wells and 34105 Swanage. To clear up any confusion 21C123/34023 was originally named Blackmoor Vale but after 1950 ran as Blackmore Vale. Different maps show the actual place in either spelling! She is currently running on the Bluebell Railway as 21C123 in Southern Railway malachite green livery and as such is currently correctly named Blackmoor Vale, though for a time she ran on the Bluebell in BR livery as 34023 Blackmore Vale. |
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All Battle of Britain class locos carried names of distinction
but perhaps one of the best remembered is 34051 Winston Churchill which
is part of the national collection at the NRM Seen here on 19th February 2000.
photograph by Colin Duff |
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Left: The imposing front of West Country class 21C123
Blackmoor Vale in Southern Railway condition, pictured on the Bluebell
Railway.
photograph by Michael Taylor |
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| Right: That of 34051 Winston Churchill in British
Railways condition, at the NRM on 14th May 2002
photograph by Peter Richards |
| One of the features promoted by Bulleid for his "air
smoothed" casing was that the engines could go through carriage washing
equipment to save time and labour when cleaning the engines. This would seem to
be something that was not generally done, but here is a photograph of 34067
Tangmere going through the carriage washer at Littlehampton on 23rd
September 2006.
This was, however, simply a shunt move through the washer - and it was a tight fit! photograph by Adrian Lee |
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About those fires...
This page was last updated 24 September 2006
