Rebuilt ‘WC’ No. 34046 BRAUNTON

Re-named and numbered as No. 34052 Lord Dowding in 2015 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Braunton was the last ‘Light Pacific’ to escape Barry scrapyard. When it left in May 1988, No. 34046 was destined for the Brighton Locomotive Works project at the former Pullman works at Preston Park, along with ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34073 249 Squadron and ‘Merchant Navies’ No. 35009 Shaw Savill and 35011 General Steam Navigation. Following the failure of the project, the ‘West Country’ was bought by the West Somerset Railway Association in 1995, arriving at Bishops Lydeard in time for the WSR’s first spring gala in March 1996. Coincidentally, the gala marked the 30th anniversary of the closure of the S&D, and Braunton was an ex-S&D engine. In a rare case of a locomotive taking the guise of another preserved engine, classmate Boscastle posed as No. 34046 at the gala to help launch the latter’s restoration fund. Later that year, the ‘West Country’ became the first locomotive to be bought by Jeremy Hosking, whose donation to the Braunton overhaul fund helped establish the WSR’s facility at Williton. Returning to steam in 2007, No. 34046 has been the latest Bulleid 4-6-2 to operate on the main line, hauling its inaugural tour in August 2013. It is expected to remain in the guise of Lord Dowding for the rest of the year; appropriately, No. 34052 was one of the ‘Light Pacifics’ that survived until the end of steam on the Southern Region 50 years ago.