LSWR T3
TENDER
APPEAL

A £25,000 appeal has been launched to help fund the restoration of the tender belonging to a unique Victorian T3 class locomotive to assist its return to steam – for the first time since 1948 when the engine escaped being scrapped so it could celebrate the centenary of London’s Waterloo station.

 

After the 1893-built London and South Western Railway locomotive No. 563 was gifted to the Swanage Railway Trust by the National Railway Museum in 2017, work on its £500,000 restoration began during 2019 using specialist contractors in Gloucestershire.

 

Costing £50,000, the restoration of the locomotive’s tender – which stores 3,300 gallons of water and three tonnes of coal for the engine – will be taking place in the Swanage Railway’s Herston engineering works, on the outskirts of Swanage.

 

It is hoped to have the 81-tonne locomotive back in steam and hauling trains, for the first time in more than 70 years, in 2023 for the centenary of the Southern Railway and the 185th anniversary of the formation of the London and South Western Railway.

 

The Swanage Railway Trust’s  563 Locomotive Group chairman Nathan Au said: “The last time that No. 563 steamed and hauled a train was in 1948 so for more than 70 years many thought they would never see a unique T3 locomotive work again.

 

“We are working hard to ensure the engine's preservation for future generations to enjoy and the best way to do that is by seeing No. 563 brought back to life.

 

“With an incredibly rich history to tell – given its Victorian heritage – the T3 is unique because it is the only surviving tender engine designed by renowned locomotive engineer William Adams.

 

“The only steam locomotive owned by the Swanage Railway Trust, a working T3 gives us the opportunity to show our visitors what the railway was like during the industrial and social development in Dorset at the end of the 19th century.

 

“No. 563 is a direct link to the Swanage Railway's past – right back to the early days of the London and South Western Railway when holiday makers first visited Purbeck by train,” added Nathan who is a volunteer steam locomotive driver on the heritage line.