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British Railways Standard Class 4 Tank 80064

Mike Esau

The last in a long line of large tank locomotives to have been built at Brighton Works, the Standard 4 tanks were closely associated with the last years of the Bluebell Line under British Railways. This locomotive worked initially from Watford, and then from 1959 on the Southern Region, before transfer to the Western Region along with the lines it worked. It was one of over 200 other locos sent to Barry scrapyard that were subsequently rescued for preservation, in this case by a group based on the Dart Valley Railway where it was restored to working order in 1981. In 1984 its owners decided to transfer it to the Bluebell, and it worked out the remainder of its boiler certificate in fine style in Sussex. Since then it has been back to Devon and has now returned again to the Bluebell.