SQUADRON SCRAMBLE
It’s the Malachite Bulleid that stands out from the crowd - 92 Squadron is back in service and ready for action, writes THOMAS BRIGHT.
How appropriate is it that a Bulleid ‘Pacific’ is the first locomotive to return to traffic in the 50th anniversary year of the end of steam on the Southern Region? Just after this issue hits the sales stands, ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34081 92 Squadron will make its public debut, teaming up with rebuilt ‘BB’ classmate No. 34053 Sir Keith Park at the Nene Valley Railway’s ‘Bulleid 50’ event, the first of many such galas commemorating that important anniversary. ‘Bulleid 50’ marks the start of a busy year for No. 34081. It will pair up with Sir Keith Park once again, a month later at the Severn Valley Railway’s Spring Steam Gala on March 17-19, an event which will also feature SVR resident rebuilt ‘West Country’ No. 34027 Taw Valley. Later that month, 92 Squadron will be venturing back into Southern Region territory to take part in the Swanage Railway’s ‘Strictly Bulleid’ gala on March 31-April 2. With five Bulleid ‘Light Pacifics’ booked to appear (No. 34046 Braunton, masquerading as No. 34052 Lord Dowding, and Nos. 34053, 34070 Manston, 34081 and 34092 City of Wells) the event will be the biggest gathering of the class in preservation. Then, on the anniversary itself, No. 34081 will be at the Mid-Hants Railway’s Summer Steam Gala on July 1/2 and 7-9. There will be a quartet of Bulleids in attendance here; in addition to 92 Squadron, the ‘Watercress Line’ will host ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35006 Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co. (making its first visit away from its Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway base since it returned to steam in 2015), ‘No. 34052’ and Sir Keith Park. Also, although nothing has yet been confirmed, owning group the Battle of Britain Locomotive
Society has been approached by the Great Central Railway about the locomotive’s appearance at its October gala.
Southern sunshine
‘92’ is the only preserved ‘Light Pacific’ runner to carry the hybrid Southern Railway livery/BR number combination. Purists will point out that this is inaccurate, as 92 Squadron bore neither nameplate nor crest during its Malachite years as it will this year; it was only officially named when it returned to Brighton works for repainting into BR green in April 1950. Don’t expect it in the latter guise any time soon though. BBLS Chairman Ian Bowskill says: “Quite a few of us like the Malachite green. Only a very few members are old enough to remember the ‘Light Pacifics’ in Malachite, but that’s no reason for us young ones not to like it. “It’s also a unique selling point, as no other Bulleid is running in anything other than BR green, so it helps us stand out from the crowd.” No. 34081 was the 101st Bulleid ‘Pacific’ to have been built, in September 1948. It lasted 16 years in service before being withdrawn from Eastleigh in June 1964. 92 Squadron left Barry scrapyard in November 1976, arriving at the NVR the following year, a place the locomotive has called home ever since. The Bulleid 4‑6‑2 returned to steam in March 1998. There have been some interesting proposals put forward for 92 Squadron over the years, not least of which was the opportunity to appear on ‘Steam on the Met’. According to Ian Bowskill: “Wheelbases were measured and minimum radius curves were discussed but, sadly, London Underground decided to ditch the event in the year it would have appeared.”
Take‑off aborted
Possibly the boldest scheme put forward was taking No. 34081 to Poland and ‘doing the ton’ ‑ a proposal dreamt up by a BBLS member. Says Ian: “The visit was suggested for 2014 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Great Escape. Squadron Leader Roger Bushell was the mastermind behind the escape, and he was the commanding officer of 92 Squadron when he was shot down over Dunkerque in 1940. “However, the timescale, along with the logistics involved, meant it was a non‑starter.” Another non‑starter is the idea of taking No. 34081 main line: “If we’d gone for main line running, she wouldn’t have been back in steam now as the costs would have exceeded our finances, and we’d still be raising the money to fund it. Then there’s the small matter of a support coach and support crew.” One idea that’s not so outlandish is outshopping 92 Squadron in a fictional Southern Railway guise, complete with the number ‘21C181’, and Southern roundel on the smokebox. “One member is prepared to sponsor just such a change and a few of us wouldn’t object. It was a voting option both times when we discussed the livery, but it didn’t attract much support.” On May 21 2008, while at the North Norfolk Railway, No. 34081 failed a boiler inspection with broken firebox stays. As the engine was nearing the end of its boiler ticket anyway, the BBLS decided to withdraw it for its ten‑yearly overhaul and, on May 19 2010, 92 Squadron returned to the NVR so that work could begin. Seven years and £280,000 later, 92 Squadron is back in traffic. It has a new smokebox, ashpan and grate, and the boiler has been significantly refurbished. The locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in eight years on December 13, at a trial steaming in Wansford yard. A month later, on January 11, the Bulleid 4‑6‑2 passed its steam test and, as a thank you to the volunteers who helped return it to the rails, No. 34081 ran a series of trips over the short distance between the yard and Wansford tunnel. So what next for the Malachite green ‘Pacific’? Once the celebrations are over, 92 Squadron will step away from the limelight and return to the NVR where it will be an integral part of the line’s operational fleet. After all, there’s no place like home.