LMS Jinty No. 47493

History

47493 was built at the Vulcan foundry in Newton-Le-Willows with the frames being laid down in 1927 and outshopped and sent to Devons Road shed in Bow East London in early 1928. The main duties of this loco was Suburban passenger working and trip freight over the former North London line with services to and from Broad Street, Poplar and to Potter’s Bar on the former Great Northern Mainline.

During its time at Devons Road the locomotive received modifications/upgrades such as fitting of a screw reverser, wakefield lubricator, destination board brackets, coal spillage plate and carriage warming apparatus for use on passenger and banana workings. The locomotive latter moved to sheds in the Liverpool and Manchester area mainly for shunting or working freight trips with occasional pilot working duties undertaken at Liverpool Lime Street station. After withdrawal in 1966 47493 was taken to Woodham Brothers scrapyard on Barry island with a few other members of its class to join the other 200+ locos that would end up there.

47493 was purchased from Woodham brothers scrapyard on Barry Island in 1972 by Barry Buckfield and taken to the premises of the Somerset and Dorset circles Radstock shed, where preliminary work was done on the locomotives overhaul. It is possible that at this time the loco possibly rubbed shoulders with another former SpVR resident, ‘Fonmon’.

November 1973 saw the loco towed from Radstock to the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore via Westbury, by David Shepherd’s Standard 4 75029 ‘The Green Knight’. At Cranmore the restoration of the loco was completed and 47493 steamed for the first time in 1977. 47493 hauled the inaugral train out of Cranmore and was to stay there until 2000 after many years of service and a few overhauls.

In 2000 the locomotive moved to the Spa Valley Railway’s Tunbridge Wells West shed where a 4 year overhaul saw it out shopped in 2004. Running until 2014 it hauled trains from TWW to Groombridge and to Eridge from 2011 once this section of the line was reopened. Visits to other railways included the Somerset and Dorset at Midsomer Norton, Mid Hants, Bluebell, Kent and East sussex and Swanage Railways.

The locomotive is currently under overhaul at Tunbridge Wells West and was re-wheeled in January 2022, the boiler is progressing well at Weybourne on the North Norfolk Railway with the tubeplates fitted and tubes being installed, it is anticipated the boiler will return to Tunbridge Wells West in the near future and go straight into the rewheeled frames. The motion has already been overhauled and will be re-assembled in due course. It is anticipated the locomotive will return to service in late 2022.

In March 2019 the railway announced the exciting news it was to purchase 47493 from Mr Buckfield and an appeal was launched to support this. As of March 2020, the appeal’s first objective was achieved in just under 12 months, with the securing of £100k towards the purchase.

You can donate to our Jinty Appeal by clicking HERE.