general steam navigation is moving to wiltshire
‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35011 General Steam Navigation will be restored to original condition at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway, after the locomotive’s owners secured an agreement to move the ex-Barry engine there.
In moving to Blunsdon, the Bulleid ‘Pacific’ is following in the footsteps of classmate No. 35027 Port Line, which initially moved to the SCR for restoration after leaving Barry in December 1982. It later moved to Swindon Works where its return to steam was completed in 1988.
‘MN’ No. 35011 has been based at Sellindge, Kent – also home to unrestored classmate No. 35025 Brocklebank Line – since 2008, and is the subject of an ambitious scheme to restore it to as-built condition, complete with airsmoothed casing and chain-driven valve gear. But with limited facilities and no covered storage at Sellindge, the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society has been seeking a more suitable home since it took ownership of the locomotive in July 2016.
“We are delighted that we can finally announce that the locomotive will be moving to the Swindon & Cricklade Railway in the near future,” said GSNLRS Chairman Simon Shutt. “This move will enable us to take the project to the next stage and escalate our efforts to put the steam back into General Steam Navigation.”
Working in association with other locomotive groups based at the SCR, the plan is to remove the locomotive’s boiler for the first time since BR days , to allow thorough restoration of the frames and wheelsets. The society hopes to complete the ‘rolling chassis’ within five years.
SCR Chairman Mick Lay said: “General Steam Navigation will be a valuable and useful locomotive when we extend to Cricklade and also help raise the profile of the railway while it is being restored.”
A move is planned for April but the date remains unconfirmed.