6430 FOR ‘SOUTH DEVON 50’ – AND A DR BEECHING LOOKALIKE?

Pannier tank No. 6430 is to return to the railway that broke it up for spares – to mark next year’s 50th anniversary of its reopening. The Llangollen-based ‘64XX’ is the first confirmed guest for the South Devon Railway’s ‘Golden Anniversary Steam Gala’ on April 6-14 2019, marking 50 years since its official reopening as the Dart Valley Railway at Easter 1969 – when Dr Beeching was the guest of honour. Among other suggestions put forward for the event is to find a lookalike of the controversial British Railways chairman. Acquired by the DVR from Cashmore’s scrapyard of Newport, No. 6430 was used as a source of parts for classmates Nos. 6412 and 6435. Sold to Hugh Shipton in 1989, it returned to steam at Llangollen in 2003, and paid its first working visit to Buckfastleigh in 2012. Now based at Buckfastleigh again after many years at the West Somerset Railway, No. 6412 – which worked the inaugural autotrain in 1969 – is expected to be in steam at the gala, along with ‘1366’ 0-6-0PT No. 1369, another early DVR resident. ‘Small Prairies’ Nos. 5526 and 5542 should also be available. Further appropriate guest engines are being explored. It is hoped to include one allnight operation, and a four-coach autotrain has also been proposed, recalling the early days of the DVR when the lack of run-round facilities at Totnes made such formations the best method of operation. All former staff who worked on the Ashburton branch in preservation, BR or GWR days, are invited to a reunion at Buckfastleigh on Saturday April 13, including a hog roast and special train. Prospective attendees should register their interest – contact the SDR on 01364 644370 or email trains@southdevonrailway.org