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LMR 600 Gordon

298 bytes added, 13:04, 24 August 2016
revise wording in line with discussion page
==LMR 600 Gordon in service==
Although the 2-10-0 design was intended for overseas use, ‘Gordon’ only saw wartime service in the UK. Post-War, Gordon was mainly confined to the Longmoor Military Railway where, numbered 600, it was used by the Royal Engineers as a driver-training engine. However in 1957 during the Suez crisis, it is known to have worked highly secretive trains between Longmoor and Southampton.<ref>Information board in The Engine House</ref>
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[[File:Bridgnorth Ex-WD 2-10-0 at Severn Valley Railway Depot geograph-2756011-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Gordon on the SVR in 1972 (Wikimedia Commons)]]
[[File:Locomotive Parade, Rainhill 1980 - War Department 2-10-0 - geograph.org.uk - 1587503.jpg | thumb|300px|right|Gordon at Rainhill in 1980 (Wikimedia Commons)]]
Gordon was still the property of the British Army when the Longmoor Military Railway closed and was subsequently sold for non-military purposes. Following this closure, the Army asked the Tranport Trust if it could provide a suitable home for the locomotive.<ref name= "SB9">SVR Stock Book 9th edition</ref>. Gordon arrived on the SVR in September 1971 on loan from The through the courtesy of the Army and the Transport Trust, accompanied by [[Carriages formerly resident on the SVR | three vintage carriages]].<ref>SVR News 21</ref>
After steam testing in January 1972, the locomotive entered service.<ref>SVR News 23</ref> In August [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-1979#1975 | 1975]] it travelled to Shildon under its own power to attend the Rail 150 celebrations. Service continued with only a brief break for the boiler to be completely retubed during the summer of 1978.<ref>SVR News 48</ref> In [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1980-1989#1980 | 1980]] Gordon travelled in light steam to Bold Colliery from where it participated in the locomotive parade at Rocket 150 at Rainhill.
Having seen action in each of the years 1972 to 1984, Gordon’s boiler succumbed to broken stays and thin firebox plates and the locomotive was withdrawn from service at the end of that year, in the words of Chief Engineer Alun Rees "''much to the relief of many of the footplate crews''".<ref> SVR News 74</ref>
After a period out of service, Gordon re-entered service on 8 December 1990, the day being marked by a severe blizzard.<ref>SVR News 98</ref> On 4 September 1993, Gordon took over an incoming railtour with the VSOE Pullman train at Kidderminster, when Prince Michael of Kent travelled on the footplate. The locomotive was also used for a series of specials with TV entertainer Roy Castle on 25 March 1994.<ref>SVR Stock Book 9th edition<name= "SB9"/ref> Service continued until 1998, although in the SVR News locomotive notes for spring 1999 Jan Chojnacki reported that "''I have it on good authority that a sweepstake is being organised for the next failure''".<ref>SVR News 129</ref> The words proved prophetic, as shortly thereafter a fractured small tube causing significant damage in the firebox.<ref>SVR News 130</ref>
Gordon has not seen service on the SVR since 1999. It remained Army property until was one of the original locomotives to go on display in [[The Engine House]] at Highley from opening in March 2008. On 24 July 2008 when, by then the last steam locomotive owned by Gordon was formally handed over from the Army, it was donated Museum to the SVRin a ceremony at the Engine House where, {{as of|2016|lc=y}}, it remains on display. Gordon is now owned by [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC | SVR(H)]] and {{as of|2016|lc=y}} is on display in [[The Engine House]] at Highley.
Mileage recorded by Gordon as reported in SVR News was as follows:
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