‘Forgotten Standard’ could steam in 2026 as front end is assembled
IT IS described as the `forgotten' BR Standard of preservation, but exBarry scrapyard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76077 has now had its first moment in the limelight.
On October 2, just half a mile from and within earshot of the Great Central Railway's Loughborough Central headquarters, where that line's autumn steam gala was in full swing (see pages 56-61), No. 76077's front end had been assembled at Locomotive Maintenance Services.
The illusion, from the front, of a complete locomotive had been created for an open day being held for shareholders and supporters of its owning group, Toddington Standard Locomotive Ltd. Volunteers from the group, along with LMS staff, are restoring the engine for use on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
“Everyone was impressed with what they saw and `Wow!' was heard from almost everyone as they came in,” said TSLL chairman Chris Irving. “It was a great opportunity for us to meet some of the generous people who have bought the shares that have enabled us to progress so quickly.”
70th anniversary target
With its smokebox, front running plates and bufferbeam all fitted and painted, No. 76077 was complete with smokebox numberplate,`SC'self-cleaning smokebox plate and 8G shedplate, the latter referring to Sutton Oak shed where it spent most of its BR career.
It was constructed at Horwich Works in December 1956, and TSLL hopes to complete its restoration in 2026 for its 70th anniversary.
One of the last Standard 4MT 2-6-0s in BR service (along with nowpreserved classmates Nos. 76079 and 76084) it was withdrawn from Wigan Springs Branch in December 1967 and arrived at Dai Woodham's Barry scrapyard the following September.
It was rescued in 1987 by Chris Hinton, who carried out some restoration work but transferred ownership of the dismantled engine to TSLL in 2018.
With the locomotive having been rewheeled in June, as reported in issue 282, the next tasks will be the reboring of the valves and cylinders, overhauling the connecting rods and motion, and completion of the new reversing gear. Restoration of its cab has also commenced at Unity Engineering.
A bigger tender?
Its boiler was professionally inspected during August and found to be in generally good order. Built in 1951, the boiler was fitted to No. 76077 during the only general overhaul of its career, carried out at Eastleigh Works in 1964.
Repairs to the boiler are estimated at £150,000, and TSLL is raising funds for the locomotive through the sale of shares and sponsorship of components – for details see www.standard76077.com
The locomotive also needs a new tender, as its original was sold separately from Barry and is now coupled to No. 76017 at the MidHants Railway. TSLL expects to hire a tender initially – but is considering the possibility of re-creating a sight not seen since the end of Southern Region steam in 1967, by building a high-sided BR1B tender for use with the 4MT.
Although No. 76077 only ever ran with a 3500-gallon low-sided BR2A tender, the 4725-gallon BR1B type was paired with 4MTs Nos. 76053-76069 for use on the Southern Region, where larger tenders were needed because of the lack of water troughs.
“We haven't decided which tender to go for yet,” said Chris. “The BR2A is more practical. We will seek opinion from our shareholders.”