Original ‘BB’ nO. 34073 249 SQUADRON

One of the last four Bulleid 4-6-2s to remain at Barry scrapyard (along with ‘West Country’ No. 34046 Braunton and ‘Merchant Navies’ Nos. 35009 Shaw Savill and 35011 General Steam Navigation), 249 Squadron has led a nomadic life in preservation, passing from one owner to another without ever having a real prospect of restoration.

No. 34073 is the last original ‘Light Pacific’ left to be returned to traffic. The Bulleid quartet left the yard for the Brighton Locomotive Project at the former Pullman works in Preston Park, languishing there until the project foundered. 249 Squadron was then bought by multiple-Bulleid owner John Bunch and moved to the Mid-Hants Railway. After a number of years at the ‘Watercress Line’, the ‘Battle of Britain’ was moved once again to Ian Riley’s Bury workshops on the East Lancashire Railway in May 2006 to provide spares for Tangmere. The ‘Spam Can’s’ boiler is thought to be in good condition, although it is currently not in the frames. 249 Squadron remains a silent member of the class, and currently languishes at Carnforth as part of the West Coast Railways stable.