Adams T3 Class 4-4-0 steam locomotive No. 563 which is being restored has arrived at its new home on the Swanage Railway for commissioning and testing work before entering operational service.
Restoration started in November 2017, and so far has cost £650,000, with work has being carried out at both the Flour Mill workshop in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and at the Swanage Railway's Herston engineering works.
It is hoped that No. 563 will haul its first passenger train in 75 years on the Swanage Railway to mark the centenary of the Southern Railway and the 185th anniversary of the formation of the London and South Western Railway in 2023, but no date has yet been confirmed.
Resplendent in lined-out 1890s Drummond passenger green livery, 563 was transported by road to Swanage Railway's Norden station. After being attached to its restored tender, yesterday evening, Wednesday, 30 August, it was hauled by rail to Swanage so that footplate crews can be trained to drive and fire it.
To reach this point has taken six years and £650,000. After avoiding being cut up for scrap, in 1958 No.563 took part in centenary celebrations for London's Waterloo station.
The locomotive was designed by William Adams and built in 1893. It was one of the finest express passenger train locomotives of the Victorian era. In 2017 the National Railway Museum it was donated to the Swanage Railway Trust.
Anyone wishing to find out more about 563's overhaul and its history, or make a donation, should go to 563locomotivegroup.co.uk.
563 Locomotive Group chairman Nathan Au said: “The completion of the ambitious T3 restoration project has been a culmination of hard work and determination over the last six years and we want to thank the individuals and parties that have been involved with the overhaul for their hard graft and efforts that has helped us finish this fairy tale story.
“We are immensely grateful to our generous supporters for their donations, contributions and faith in the T3 project that have made this achievement possible as well as providing a source of encouragement along what has been a challenging and ambitious journey.
“It has been wonderful to engage with so many like-minded people and build a community around the locomotive so we can't wait to show them the results.
“The next step will be for our engineering team to start the important process of commissioning and testing the T3 before we start training the footplate crews that will operate No. 563,” added Nathan who is a volunteer driver on the Swanage Railway.
Swanage Railway Trust chairman Gavin Johns said: “The Trust was honoured when the National Railway Museum donated the T3 to the Swanage Railway in 2017 and now, thanks to a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of members – supported by our generous donors – we will be able to enjoy the sight of a T3 hauling passenger trains through the Isle of Purbeck for the first time since the 1920s and 1930s.
“The triumph of the T3 restoration project is wonderful British railway enthusiasm at its very best – actively recreating history which is especially timely as we start to plan to celebrate 200 years of our nation's railway history in 2025,” added Mr Johns who is also a volunteer Swanage Railway signalman.
563 Locomotive Group treasurer Steve Doughty said: “The 563 Locomotive Group will continue to raise funds to ensure the T3 remains in tip-top condition and is looked after in the long term.
“We are already looking at ways of making the locomotive more sustainable by, for example, investigating methods of protection against corrosion on the inside of tender water tank which will reduce future maintenance costs.
“Other initiatives will also include ways to provide education and historical context to the T3 so we will keep asking for vital donations to help make this possible. No. 563 is a splendid direct link to the Swanage Railway's Victorian past – back to the early days of the London and South Western Railway in the 1880s and 1890s,” added Steve.
When will it’s first day of passenger use start?