CHURCHWARD ‘SAINT’ 4-6-0 No. 2999 LADY OF LEGEND
Group: Great Western Society Project formed: 1974 Project cost: £850,000 Estimated completion date: 2018/9 Location: Didcot Railway Centre To run: Preserved railways only
A virtually complete ‘Saint’ No. 2999 Lady of Legend was unveiled for the first time at Didcot in November, signalling the end of its protracted construction-cum-restoration.
Of all the new-build projects, the ‘29XX’ is perhaps the most vital. Churchward’s pioneering two-cylinder 4-6-0s were among the most ground-breaking and influential locomotives ever built in Britain, and Swindon’s ‘Hall’, ‘Grange’, ‘Manor’ and ‘County’ ten-wheelers – as well as Stanier’s ‘Black Fives’ and the BR Standard ‘5MTs’ – can all trace their roots back to this historic class. The lack of an original ‘Saint’ is therefore one of the biggest missing links in preservation and Lady of Legend is a scheme that deserves to succeed.
But we must address the elephant in the room. The ‘Saint’ has taken far longer than it should have.
To criticise a project that is all but finished and that has brought back to life one of Britain’s most significant locomotives might seem churlish, but let’s not forget that the Great Western Society started with an almost complete locomotive in the first place – ‘Hall’ No. 4942 Maindy Hall, which was rescued from Barry in 1974 for the express purpose of forming the basis of a replica ‘Saint’. We’re only now on the verge of that ambition being realised.
Yes, the GWS – in addition to creating allnew components such as the driving wheels and cylinder block, as well as modifying the frames – has also had to restore its donor locomotive from scrapyard condition, so its efforts in doing both these tasks must be applauded, but when Steam Railway ran a similar new-build round-up at the end of 2002, the projected steaming date for No. 2999 was 2006. Despite carrying a ‘Built Didcot 2018’ worksplate, it seems unlikely that Lady of Legend will move under its own steam before the end of the year.
GWS Chairman Richard Croucher told Steam Railway: “We have not yet steamed the boiler in the frames but that will be the next task, although I cannot say when.”
Lady of Legend’s future is still to be firmly outlined. Richard says: “We hope to launch it in GWR 1913 Edwardian green next spring. It will stay at Didcot for the first season but after that nothing has been arranged.” Didcot has not ruled out main line running, but plans to take the ‘Saint’ onto the national network have been shelved.
It should be the ‘poster loco’ for new-builds, proving how such projects are an opportunity to bring back classes that should never have been rendered extinct, but it will only be after completion that any lingering frustration over the long wait will be forgotten..
Cynics might suggest that No. 2999 isn’t even a proper ‘Saint’ as it is substantially a 1929-built ‘Hall’, but given that Collett created the ‘49XX’ class by fitting ‘Saint’ No. 2925 Saint Martin with smaller driving wheels, the GWS counters that reversing that process to create Lady of Legend from No. 4942 is in the best Swindon tradition.
The ‘Saint’ is perhaps the ultimate example of ‘better late than never’, and while the GWS would be the first to admit that Lady of Legend has taken longer than intended, we should celebrate the return of a locomotive that changed steam development unlike any other engine before or since.