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[[Category:Operational steam locomotives]]
[[Category:Locomotives at Bridgnorth]]
Format
|rating = GWR: E, BR: 8F
|axleload = GWR: Blue
|status = In Servicestore
|locono = 2857
|designed = George Jackson Churchward
==2857 in preservation==
2857 was purchased from [[Barry Scrapyard | Woodham Bros scrapyard]] on 20th 20 May 1974 by [[The 2857 Society|The 2857 Society]] for a cost of £5,250 plus £525 VAT; fund raising for the purchase was helped by a [[:Category:SVR fundraising lotteries|raffle organised by the SVRA Kidderminster branch]] which raised £1,950 nett.<ref>SVR News 33,34</ref> The locomotive was moved by rail from Barry to the Severn Valley Railway in convoy with [[GWR Mogul 7325]], arriving on 13th 13 August 1975<ref>SVR News 37 p.2. and p.14.</ref><ref>SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition</ref> (The 2857 Society website states 20 August).<ref>[http://www.2857.org.uk/2857_2-preservation.html 2857 Society web site 2]</ref> They were respectively the 69th and 70th locomotives to leave Barry.<ref>The Barry Story, Beckett & Hardingham (2010)</ref>
===Restoration and first steaming===
Restoration began at Bewdley in January 1976 and was carried out in the open air. A major setback was the discovery of a cracked cylinder casting. Although attempts at welding this failed, the locomotive was first steamed in preservation on 9th 9 September 1979, minus cladding. A replacement cylinder block was acquired, having been found during the demolition of the Briton Ferry Steelworks in South Wales. The locomotive was steamed intermittently through 1980 but without entering regularly in service. Mileage recorded during the period was as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
! <b>Year</b> !! style="text-align:right;" | <b>Mileage</b>
<div id="MainLine"></div>
2857 was steamed again on 18th 18 August 1985 and after a week of running in was able to make her only appearance on the main line hauling a demonstration freight train as part of the GW 150 celebrations of that year (as a heavy freight locomotive, 2857 was not considered suitable for main line passenger rail tours):
{| class="wikitable"
!Date!!Tour name !! Route !! Notes !! Web !!SVR News
Following these troubles, 2857 became a reliable performer, recording the highest annual mileage of any steam locomotive on the SVR in each of the years 2013 to 2015. Mileage since 2010 is recorded on the [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2010-2019#Locomotives used | 2010-2019 Timeline page]]. However it became apparent in 2016 that as the locomotive approached its 100th anniversary, significant work would soon be required including relining the cylinders, replacing valves and pistons and attending to a bent piston rod. The locomotive was therefore withdrawn for an intermediate overhaul in September 2017, with a complete boiler re-tube being carried out at the same time.<ref>SVR News 201</ref> The locomotive returned to service on 16 May 2018<ref>[https://twitter.com/svrofficialsite/status/996798365215219713 SVR Social Media]</ref>, 100 years to the month since first entering service. On 18 September 2018 the locomotive passed 100,000 miles in preservation, carrying both a headboard "Still gong strong, 100,000 miles" and a "100" headcode.<ref>[https://twitter.com/svrofficialsite/status/1042674319820775426 SVR social media]</ref> The 100 headcode remained in use during the [[Autumn Steam Gala]] which began on 24 September.<ref>SVRLive</ref> It reappeared on 11 November for the centenary of Remembrance Day.
During Autumn 2021 it underwent a Valve and Piston exam.<ref name="SVRNews216">SVR News 216, p. 17</ref> The boiler certificate was extended six months from July 2022 and the final day in traffic was be on 2 January 2023<ref>The 2857 Society on Facebook, 23 June and 19 August 2022</ref> The Society plan then to take her through a 10 yearly overhaul and return her to steam, hopefully in time for Great Western 200 in 2035: the Society and Railway have agreed to carry out a full condition report on the locomotive to determine the work load and cost involved. Decisions can then be taken after that has been completed.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/2857-Society-103885818742715/ The 2857 Society on Facebook 30 October 2021 and 19 August 2022]</ref> At the end of 2019, 2857 had recorded a total of 111,594 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>. By February 2023, 2857 reached the end of its 10 year boiler ticket and was moved into storage to await its turn in the overhaul queue. It subsequently appeared as a static exhibit in the bay platform at Kidderminster during the 2023 [[Step Back to the 1940s]] event.
==Gallery==
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[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:SVR fundraising lotteries]]
