‘Spitfire’ flies again at Spa Valley winter gala
SCRAPPED ‘BATTLE of Britain’ No. 34066 Spitfire was resurrected at the Spa Valley Railway’s ‘Winter Steam-Up’ on February 9-11, to mark 60 years since it hauled a railtour over the line.
Masquerading as Spitfire – infamous for its involvement in the Lewisham rail disaster of December 4 1957, in which 90 people lost their lives – was Southern Locomotives Ltd’s own ‘BB’ No. 34072 257 Squadron, which was given temporary ‘66’ vinyl cabside numbers over its ‘72’ originals, a new smokebox numberplate, and replica Spitfire nameplates and enamelled crests. The original Spitfire had hauled the Tunbridge Wells West-Polegate-Pevensey leg of the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society/ Locomotive Club of Great Britain ‘Sussex Downsman’ railtour on March 22 1964, the route of which took it over what is now the Spa Valley Railway. The ‘Spam Can’ then hauled the return leg from Brighton to London Victoria via Lewes, Eridge and Oxted later the same day. Withdrawn in September 1966, Spitfire was subsequently scrapped by J. Buttigieg at Newport in January 1967. It was considered for preservation by the Bulleid Society, but was passed over in favour of No. 34023 Blackmore Vale.
The other visiting locomotives at the event were a pair of Standards – ‘2MT’ 2-6-0 No. 78019 from the Great Central Railway, and Stewart Robinson’s ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80078, currently based at the Mid-Norfolk Railway. Completing the line-up was McIntosh 0-6-0 No. 828 – making a return to action following a period on the sidelines for repair – and Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST Works No. 2315 ‘Lady Ingrid’, hauling its first public passenger trains following the completion of its recent overhaul.
The later-than-expected arrival of No. 78019 to the SVR owing to a last-minute change of haulier prompted some eleventhhour timetable changes, while No. 80078 required a replacement main steam pipe and other minor repairs before it could be passed fit for service. Meanwhile, ‘Lady Ingrid’ was mostly restricted to hauling brake van rides with the SVR’s ‘Queen Mary’ brake van between Tunbridge Wells West and Groombridge, and the ‘main line’ locomotives double-headed in various combinations throughout the weekend.
Nos. 78019 and 80078 teamed up the following weekend to haul the SVR’s services, before the ‘2MT’ returned to its GCR home.