‘MICKEY MOUSE’ RETURNS TO SWANAGE FOR ‘CLASS OF 1967’ GALA
Ivatt ‘2MT’ No. 41312 will be returning to the branch it once worked over when it attends the Swanage Railway’s ‘Class of ’67’ gala on October 13‑15. The LMS‑designed 2‑6‑2T was allocated to Bournemouth in 1964, from where it worked over both the Swanage and Lymington branches before being transferred to Nine Elms in April 1967, where it spent the last three months of its career acting as Waterloo station pilot. The ‘Mickey Mouse’ tank is one of two visiting locomotives at the three‑day event, and will be joined by BR Standard ‘4MT’ No. 80078 (see SR468). The 2‑6‑4T was once resident on the ‘Purbeck Line’, having been sold by owners Southern Locomotives Ltd in 2010. It joins Swanage resident No. 80104 (currently running as ’67 veteran No. 80146), which was expected to have returned to service on August 30 (see Roster), after the locomotive sustained minor damage in a low‑speed shunting collision on July 24. The event marks the first gala appearance of ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34072 257 Squadron, following the completion of its recent overhaul (see page 24). The Bulleid will be joined by Swanage residents Maunsell ‘U’ class No. 31806 and Drummond ‘M7’ No. 30053, which will bow out at the gala as its boiler ticket expires on October 31. ●● No. 41312 will also visit the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway’s ‘Autumn Steam Gala’ on September 8, where it will line up alongside visiting ‘42XX’ 2‑8‑0T No. 4270 from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The addition of the ‘Mickey Mouse’ tank to the PBR gala brings the number of operational steam engines up to four, with residents RSH ‘Austerity’ 0‑6‑0ST No. 71515 Mech Navvies Ltd. and Andrew Barclay 0‑4‑0ST Rosyth No. 1 also in steam.