National Collection LSWR T9 to remain at Swanage

THE Swanage Railway Trust has reached agreement with the National Railway Museum for LSWR T9 ‘Greyhound’ 4-4-0 No. 30120 to remain on the Purbeck line following the expiry of its boiler certificate last August.

The agreement includes storage on the line and provision for limited disassembly, including a boiler lift, for the trust to assess the potential for the 1899-built locomotive to be returned to steam.

Withdrawn in 1963, it later joined the National Collection. Overhauled at Bill Parker’s Flour Mill workshop at Bream in the Forest of Dean for service on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in 2010, it moved to Swanage in 2017. Since then, it has proved to be a popular and reliable member of the line’s fleet, and a firm favourite with visitors and footplate crews alike.

Trust volunteer Matt McManus said: “We are delighted to have reached agreement with the

NRM for the T9 to stay in our care and, hopefully, be overhauled and returned to service.

“No timetable has yet been set for the engineering assessment of No. 30120, although the Swanage Railway is keen to complete this as soon as possible for it to be included in its overall motive power plan.”

NRM senior curator of rail transport and technology, Anthony Coulls, said: “The T9 remains a valued part of the museum’s collection and we have enjoyed sharing it with heritage lines across the country where it has been in steam.

“The NRM’s Operating Rail Vehicle Strategy, published in 2019, is due for review but we still see a working future for No. 30120, which is dependent on the practicality of another overhaul to working condition.”

The Swanage Railway Trust’s LSWR T3 4-4-0 No. 563 is currently being overhauled at the Flour Mill.