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[[File:Dunrobin (SteamExpo).jpg |thumb|300px|right| Dunrobin in Canada in 1986]]
In 1870 the 3rd Duke of Sutherland financed the extension of the Highland Railway line from Golspie to Helmsdale via his own Dunrobin Castle. In return he received his own private station for his castle (still in use today as a public station on the line from Inverness to Thurso). He also received the powers to run his own train on the lines owned by the Highland Railway. He had his own carriages and locomotive built for the purpose. Dunrobin is an 0-4-4T, built by Sharp Stewart & Co of Glasgow in 1895 for to order number E1056. One of the unique features was the enlarged footplate and enclosed cab with a 4 person upholstered seat set high up at the Duke of Sutherlandback. It was used until around 1920 to pull the Duke’s private train between Dunrobin Castle and Inverness. In 1949, the Duke having acquired running rights on new British Railways revoked the Highland Railway as a condition of financing construction of part powers of the lineDuke to travel in his own train.<ref>[https://nationalrailwaymuseum.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/dunrobin-royal-engine/ Valkoinen, C., 'Dunrobin – The Little Royal Engine', National Railway Museum, 28 May 2014] Retrieved 15 August 2018</ref>
==Preservation==
Dunrobin and a saloon were sold in 1950 to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. The locomotive ran large parts of the 700+ mile journey (from Helmsdale to Carlisle and from Ashford to New Romney) under its own steam.<ref>[http://www.scotlandrailholiday.com/dunrobin/locomotive.htm Journal of The Stephenson Locomotive Society for August 1950, via Scotland Rail Holiday website] (Retrieved 31 March 2024)</ref> The locomotive was exported to Canada in 1965, but acquired in January 2011 by the Beamish Living Museum of the North<ref>[http://www.beamish.org.uk/beamish-buys-dunrobin/ Beamish announcement]</ref> and repatriated to the UK. On arrival, Dunrobin was brought to Bridgnorth on 19 May 2011 to be dismantled and the feasibility of restoration to working order assessed. Contracts were subsequently let to [[Severn Valley Railway Engineering Services]] for boiler and mechanical overhaul at [[Bridgnorth Loco Works]].
==Current status==
Progress on the overhaul has seen the driving wheels sent away for refurbishment, saw work on the locomotive's rear bogie truck completed, and work on the chassis. {{As By early 2018 the boiler boiler was largely complete (and awaiting assembly), with a great deal of|new material incorporated including new barrel, firebox outer wrapper skirts, all new stays, new longitudinal and palm stays, overhauled dome, new smokebox and new internal components such as the J pipe also being replaced.<ref>SVR News No. 199 and 200, Autumn and Winter 2017|12}} </ref> New tanks were completed at Dinas. When Beamish bought the boiler is due locomotive they could see some cracks in a small number of spokes. Once these were stripped at Bridgnorth, a great deal more cracks were revealed, to be assembled during the extent that an independent inspection was commissioned using the magnetic particle inspection technique. The renewal of all four ‘driving’ wheels (coupled wheels) was instigated in 2018, the crank axle being retained, whilst the rest (wheel centres, tyres, front axle and crankpins) entirely new manufactured at South Devon Engineering. A new cylinder block was commissioned and cast in 2014, however issues required remedial attention. By March 2019 the reworked block was awaited, before rewheeling could commence.<ref>SVR News 205</ref> The project had been making slow but steady progress otherwise has , with parts being reassembled, until being placed on hold in March 2020 due to the [[2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic|Coronavirus pandemic]]. In May 2021 Beamish Museum announced they had received a grant of £150,000 to complete the work and was waiting for the SVR to allocate it a place in their workstream. The work to this point had been beset chassis-focussed, with problems the aim being to be resolved install the new cylinder block and wheel Dunrobin, before completing the boiler (which was nearly finished) and final assembly.<ref>[http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/2021/05/dunrobin-ten-years-on/ Beamish Transport Online blog, ''DUNROBIN – TEN YEARS ON'', Paul Jarman, 19 May 2021]</ref> Work recommenced at Bridgnorth in Autumn 2022, with Dunrobin re-entering the ownerLoco workshops at Bridgnorth. A test steaming may be possible in 2018<ref>[http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/2022/10/ti-news-24-2022/ Beamish Transport Online blog 22 October 2022] (Retrieved 2 November 2022)</ref> In June 2023 an important milestone was reached with the re-wheeling of the chassis after a number of years on an accommodation bogie.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bljun23 Branch Lines June 2023]</ref>This followed the fitting of the new cylinder block and alignment of slide bars. Yet more new metal is the replacement of the bunker and rear-cab section: the SVR News Nosub-contracted the construction to the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway, who had earlier made the new tanks.<ref>[https://beamishtransportonline.co. 199 uk/category/dunrobin/ Beamish Transport Online blog, T&I NEWS 11 2023, and 2002 2024, Autumn 27 May 2023 and Winter 201729 February 2024] (Retrieved 31 March 2024)</ref> [http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/category/dunrobin/ Beamish Transport Online blog] has regular updates on progress of the work which has necessitated many new parts including cylinder block, smokebox and boiler barrel sections.
The photograph below shows work in progress in March 2012.
File: Dunrobin 20120324.jpg | Dunrobin in Bridgnorth Works
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==Highland Railway Drummond “W” Class==
The Highland Railway Drummond “W” (or "397"?) class comprised four locomotives built in 1905–1906 and were built to a similar design, the last engines built at Lochgorm works in Inverness. The LMS gave them a power classification '0P'. Two survived to 1956/7, the last HR locos in service. Two GWR 1600 Class 0-6-0PT locomotives (1646/49) took over the work from Helmsdale - Dornoch line.
==See also==
*[[Steam Locomotives]]*[[Steam and diesel locomotives visiting the SVR for contract overhauls]]
==References==
==Links==
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunrobin_(locomotive) Dunrobin (Locomotive) on Wikipedia]<br>[http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Heritage-Railway-Dunrobin.pdf Jarman, P., 'Dunrobin, A locomotive for the rich and famous', Heritage Railway Magazine, Issue 181, 26 September 2013, pp. 74-78]
[[Category:Locomotives at Bridgnorth]]