List of Rolling Stock Preserved On The South Devon Railway - Locomotives - Main Line Steam

Main Line Steam

These steam locomotives are former Great Western Railway (GWR) locomotives. Some are types that would have operated on the line before it was closed by British Railways (BR), others would be seen on the main line at Totnes or elsewhere in Devon and Cornwall.

• 1369 – GWR 1366 Class 0-6-0PT

This small class of six locomotives were designed for shunting around docks and on branch lines with tight curves. 1369 was built at Swindon in 1934. In 1932 it was sent to Cornwall to work the Bodmin and Wenford branch which it did until replaced by diesel locomotives in 1964; the last steam locomotive working for BR in Cornwall. It arrived at Buckfastleigh on 2 April 1966. It is running in GWR green livery.

• 1420 – GWR 1400 Class 0-4-2T

The 1400 Class were fitted with controls for working autotrains which could be driven with the locomotive at the back of the train. They were a familiar sight on the Buckfastleigh line for many years before its closure. 1420 was built in 1933 and withdrawn at the beginning of 1964; it came to Buckfastleigh on 17 October 1965. It is currently undergoing an overhaul. Another 1400 Class, number 1450, was on the line from 1966 but has since moved elsewhere.

• 3205 – GWR 2251 Class 0-6-0 goods locomotive

The 2251 Class were small locomotives introduced in 1930 for working freight trains and became the last 0-6-0 tender locomotives to be built for service in the United Kingdom, our example being built in 1946. After withdrawal in 1965 it was moved to Buckfastleigh, the second locomotive to arrive for preservation. From 1967 until 1998 it operated on the Severn Valley Railway and hauled that line's first train when the line reopened in 1970. It was overhauled in 2010 and painted BR unlined green livery.

• 3803 – GWR 2884 Class 2-8-0 freight locomotive.

The 2800 Class were first put to work in 1903 for working heavy freight trains, and the improved 2884 Class followed in 1938. 3803 was built in early 1939 and withdrawn from Severn Tunnel Junction shed in 1963. Like many locomotives, it was sold to Woodham Brothers’ Barry scrap yard where it languished. Purchased from there in November 1983, it was restored at Buckfastleigh, finally entering service in 2005 in GWR unlined green livery.

2800 Class 2873 also found its way to Barry scrap yard and was purchased as a source of spare parts for other locomotives at Buckfastleigh, where its frames and wheels are still stored.

• 4920 Dumbleton Hall GWR 4900 Class 4-6-0

While the largest and most important express trains were in the care of 'King' and 'Castle' classes, the 'Halls' were given the next class of trains once they were introduced in 1928. Dumbleton Hall, which was named after a house in Dumbleton near Evesham, was built in 1929 and worked at many sheds including Plymouth Laira. The last of its class in service when withdrawn in 1965, it went to Barry scrap yard from where it was bought for preservation at Buckfastleigh in 1974. It is currently out of service awaiting an overhaul.

• 5526 – GWR 4575 Class 2-6-2T

These 'small prairies' were medium sized branch line locomotive; they used to haul freight trains on the Buckfastleigh line. The 4575 Class were introduced in 1927 as an improvement on the earlier 4500 Class. 5526 was built in 1928 and worked from many sheds in Devon and Cornwall: St Blazey, Bodmin, Exeter, Plymouth Millbay, Laira and Truro before being withdrawn from Westbury in 1962. It then went to Barry scrap yard from where it was purchased in 1985. It was moved to Swindon for restoration but this was not completed until it was sold to a new group and moved to Buckfastleigh.

Two other 'small prairies' have worked on the Buckfastleigh line in preservation. 4500 Class number 4555 worked the last BR train on the line and was first locomotive to arrive for preservation in 1965. It was joined in 1970 by 4575 Class 4588 which came from Barry scrap yard. but these are both now based on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway.

• 5786 – GWR 5700 Class 0-6-0PT

The 5700 'pannier tanks' are the archetypal GWR shunting and branch line locomotive. They first appeared in 1929 and 5786 was one of the earliest ones constructed – the class eventually numbered 863 locomotives. After British Railways had no further use for 5786 it was sold to the London Transport Executive and, carrying the number L92, worked engineers trains on the Metropolitan Line until 1971. Upon its eventual retirement it was preserved by the Worcester Locomotive Society and after initially being based on the Severn Valley Railway it was moved to the Bulmer's Railway Centre in Hereford for preservation before moving to the South Devon Railway. It returned to service in 2013 after an overhaul in its London Transport L92 livery.

• 6412 – GWR 6400 Class 0-6-0PT

One of 40 such locomotives built for working autotrains, it was delivered new to Swansea Landore shed towards the end of 1934. It worked in south Wales until 1963 when it was transferred to Exmouth Junction shed in Devon. It was later moved north to Gloucester and was taken out of service there in November 1964. It was sold to the Dart Valley Railway and arrived at Totnes under its own power on 5 June 1966. It hauled the first train when the line re-opened on 5 April 1969. After working on both the Buckfastleigh and Kingswear lines it was deemed as surplus to requirements and sold to the West Somerset Railway Association, moving to Taunton, again under its own power, on 25 March 1976. It was one of the first locomotives to work that line when it reopened, and starred in The Flockton Flyer television series, for which it was given "Flockton Flyer" nameplates. It was taken out of service for its ten-yearly overhaul in 2008. Although this work was started, it was decided that 6412 was too small for the large trains now operating on the West Somerset Railway, and so was sold to the South Devon Railway and returned to its old haunts on 8 January 2009. The overhaul will now be completed at Buckfastleigh.

Two other 6400 Class locomotives worked on the line with 6412 in its early preservation days. 6430 is now on the Llangollen Railway and 6435 is on the Bodmin and Wenford Railway respectively.