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28 was placed into store at Kidderminster in 1949. 29, which acquired the nickname "the Gadget", was fitted with a spark arrester cowl in case working to the Admiralty Depot at Ditton Priors was required, and was then retained at Kidderminster for occasional shunting turns, her former duties having been taken over by GWR 2021 class locomotives<ref name=Barfield/>.
The original coaching stock comprised four ex-North London Railway four-wheel coaches, later replaced by standard GWR vehicles.<ref>Burton, Anthony and Scott-Morgan, John,'The Light Railways of Britain and Ireland', Moorland Press, 1985</ref>
A Planet diesel locomotive is believed to have been used but its dates of arrival and departure are not known. Later, three 'flameproof' 165hp [[Whyte notation|0-4-0]] diesel locomotives were supplied to RNAD Ditton Priors by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln between 1952 and 1955.<ref>[https://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/2010/11/06/some-early-lines-cleobury-mortimer-and-ditton-priors-light-railway/ Some Early Lines – Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway, 6 November 2010 (a blog)] (Retrieved 18 September 2018)</ref>
==Early plans for expansion==
The line became part of BR(W) under nationalisation in 1948 and continued in very limited use, sometimes with just one train per week. On 21 May 1955 the Stephenson Railway Society organised a ‘special’ from Birmingham via Kidderminster and Bewdley to Ditton Priors. Dean Goods No 2516 (now preserved at Steam in Swindon) hauled this to Cleobury Mortimer, where 0-6-0PT No 2144 (with spark arrestor) took over using CM&DPLR rolling stock. The ‘special’ travelled as far as Cleobury North Sidings, becoming the only passenger bogie-stock ever on the line.
Ownership of the line passed from BR to the Admiralty in May 1957, the occasional haulage by now being provided by the Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 diesel shunters. Navy use of the line continued until 1960, when the railway finally closed (some Admiralty equipment was moved from the Depot by rail thereafter).
The line was considered as a possible candidate for preservation in the [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1965-1969#1965 | early days]] of the [[Severn Valley Railway Society]], but was deemed unsuitable because of its remoteness and the relatively light axle load limits.
==Links==
*[http://railway-photography.smugmug.com/GWRSteam-1/1923GWR-Absorbed-locos-/Cleobury-Mortimer-Ditton-Priors-Light-Railway/i-FHRb68B Photo of No 29 after rebuilding]
*[https://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/2010/11/06/some-early-lines-cleobury-mortimer-and-ditton-priors-light-railway/cleobury-town-station/ Muckley, A., An MOD Ruston & Hornsby diesel shunter passes through Cleobury Town Station on 26 March 1965]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleobury_Mortimer_and_Ditton_Priors_Light_Railway Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway on Wikipedia]
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N13901190 Minutes, correspondence, miscellaneous papers, stock and share records, letter books 1901-22, The National Archives]
