ENR №50163 "Preston"

Originally London, Brighton & South Coast Railway №63, 50163 was purchased in 1924 due to the lack of shunting locomotives possessed by the ENR following the end of the First World War, such as the seven 0-6-0Ts destined for the western front lost in transport during The Battle of Shelby.

  Original service life:
She was built in 1875, officially entering traffic later that year on the 7th October. №63 spent her working life in pulling passenger trains in South London until the introduction of the D1s when she migrated deeper into the home counties. In the 1890s, Preston was one of several terriers placed on the duplicate list as the A1s were underpowered for the jobs requiered. №63 was spared when more traffic came up and was moved to Battersea as a shunter. Later, upon formation of the Southern Railway, she was set aside for scrapping but was purchased with two other locomotives in September 1924.

  Service with the ENR:
She arrived at Wesdean docks in May 1924 abord the EPS Boston after a nearly two day long journey up from Brighton. She was initially put to work as the shunter at Wesdean before being moved upto Redwick to replace an ex - NMR 3A Classes 0-4-4BT on goods trains over the City Widened Line in 1928. While at Wesdean, the crew at the locomotive shed painted her roof white as a distinguishing feature as she was looked at as a sort of "pet". She was on the City Widened Line in Winter 1931 by №40100 "Leadenhall" as both locomotives had their condensing gear still equipped and a second locomotive was required due to the shunter at Chapelswood being withdrawn from service.

  She carried on running these duties alongside №40100 until both locomotives were replaced by Ruston 48DS diesels purchased second hand from the Railway Operating Division in the late 40s. Preston was transfered to Aldeby where she pulled mixed traffic trains over the Houghton - Aldeby Line until her withdrawal in 1967.

  Preservation:
After her withdrawal, she was sold to Coleman, Bell & Co. LTD for scrapping. She remained at their site until 1971 when she was purchased for preservation by the Parsley Line Locomotive Club, being restored to operational condition by 1977. She is currently on loan to the Rae Valley Railway until 2025.

 
Code:Name:From Date:
19A Wesdean 05/1924
4B Chapelswood 10/1928
27D Aldeby 06/1949
(№50163 in her original condition, LB&SCRly)
Creation Date
1875
Decommission Date
1967
Owning Organization
Current location
Date Modified:Modification:
05/1913 Rebuilt to A1X
11/1925 General Overhaul
08/1932 Boiler Replacement
01/1947 Heavy Overhaul
12/1959 General Overhaul

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