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BR Riddles 4MT 75069

1,352 bytes added, 12:53, 14 January 2021
Double chimney fitted 1960
{{Infobox black steam loco
|image = Standard class 4MT 75069 at Hastings, Ashford 15075069_20190514.jpg|caption = BR Standard 4MT 75069 at Hastings circa 1992
|construc = BR Swindon Works
|wheels = 4-6-0
|power = 25,515 lb
|pressure = 225 lb/sq in
}}[[File:Standard class 4MT 75069 at Hastings, Ashford 150.jpg|thumb|300px|right|75069 at Hastings circa 1992]]'''75069 ''' is a BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 locomotive designed by R.A. Riddles. The Standard 4MT was designed for mixed traffic use on secondary routes where the BR Standard Class 5 and its predecessor, the ‘Black Five’, would be too heavy.
==75069 in service==
75069 was one of the final batch allocated to the BR Southern Region, which were built with a larger tender giving . This gives greater coal and water capacity , but with restricting the same weight and route restrictions as to that of the Standard Class 5.
75069 was built in 1955 at BR’s Swindon works and entered traffic at Dover. It was fitted with a double chimney at Eastleigh in 1960, returning to traffic at Stewart's Lane.<ref>Heaton, John, 'Oxted Line Steam: 1961', The Railway Magazine, January 2021</ref> After just 11 years in service around London and the South Coast, the locomotive was withdrawn from service at Eastleigh in September 1966.<ref>[http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=75069&loco=75069 BRDatabase] Retrieved 29 January 2015.</ref>
Being a Southern engine 75069 is paired with a BR1B tender. This weighs approximately 49 tons (49.94 t), carrying 4,250 gallons of water and approximately 7 tons of coal.
|}
After a lengthy period in storage, hopes of a return to service were raised in early 2009 when work was carried out to assess the condition of the boiler. However this assessment revealed that significant work would be required<ref>SVR News 168</ref> and [[GWR Pannier 1501 | 1501]], seen as a potential quick turnaround, was selected for overhaul instead.<ref>SVR News 169</ref> 75069’s Heavy General repair finally began in early 2013<ref>SVR News 180</ref>: the boiler barrel and much of the firebox was entirely new and many of the fittings and almost all of the pipework were replaced. A new cab, new smokebox and chimney, replacement steelwork in the tender coal space and new drag box were among other major repairs. Work cost over £900,000 and involved more than 25,000 man hours of effort.<ref>Express Points, January 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-47237824/men-rebuild-steam-engine-for-severn-valley-railway BBC News 15 February 2019] (Retrieved 16 February 2019)</ref> Although initially advertised as returning to traffic prior to both the 2017 and 2018 [[Autumn Steam Gala|Autumn Galas]]s, the locomotive's first test runs started 11 December 2018 with her boiler exam two days later.<ref>The Railway Magazine, January 2019, p.66</ref> She returned to traffic 16 February 2019 at the start of the season's services.
In the early morning of 22 July 2019, 75069 collided with a [[Tales from the Severn Valley#Minor_Derailments|fallen tree]] between [[Hampton Loade]] and [[Country Park Halt]] while running light engine from Bridgnorth to work a service train from Kidderminster. The locomotive’s bogie was derailed and although the bogie axles were found not to have been bent, a number of front end fittings were damaged including the guard irons, steam heat and vacuum pipes, and a cylinder drain cock casting and drain pipe.<ref>Steam Railway Magazine Issue 496, p 13, ''Severn Valley '4MT' derailed after hitting tree'', statement attributed to [[Severn Valley Railway Engineering Services|ESMP]] Manager Neil Taylor.</ref> After repairs, the locomotive resumed service on Friday 6 September. At the end of 2019, 75069 had recorded a total of 63,467 miles in preservation on the SVR. The reported total may include mileage on the main line and on hire to other railways.<ref>SVR News 210, SVR-based Steam Locomotive Mileage 2017-2019, Duncan Ballard</ref> The locomotive is owned by [[The 75069 Fund]].
==See also==
[[Category:Operational steam locomotives]]
[[Category:SVR fundraising lotteries]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
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