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1501 entered service on 31 July 1949<ref name = "BRD">BRDatabase.info</ref> at London’s Old Oak Common, where duties included hauling long rakes of empty coaching stock in and out of Paddington Station. On 30 November 1950<ref name = "BRD" /> the locomotive was reallocated to Southall for local shunting duties.
The BR modernisation programme led to a swift replacement of the 1500 class by 350hp diesel shunters, and 1501 was withdrawn from service at Southall by BR in January 1961<ref name = "BRD" /> after a working life of just 11 years 5 months. Following withdrawal, 1501 was moved to Swindon. Two other class members, '''1502 ''' and '''1509''', were also moved to Swindon after withdrawal from Didcot and Newport respectively, and in February 1961 all three were sold to the National Coal Board<ref name = StockBook/>. <gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">File:Didcot geograph-2565399-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|Classmate 1502 at Didcot in 1957</gallery>
===National Coal Board===
In June 1961 all three locomotives were towed by rail via Bagnalls at Stafford to the Andrew Barclay works at Kilmarnock for repairs and a repaint into unlined maroon livery. Later in the year they returned by road to the colliery at Keresley, Coventry where, still carrying their BR numbers, they worked in the NCB sidings and on the two mile branch line to the Coventry to Nuneaton line at Three Spires Junction. 1969 saw the locomotives once again replaced by diesel shunters, with 1501 the last of the three in use until September of that year.<ref name = StockBook />
<gallerymode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">
File: S1504_1501_David_Cooke.jpg|1501 at Coventry in 1969 (David Cooke)
</gallery>
During 2009, plans for an overhaul of [[BR Riddles 4MT 75069 | 75069]] were delayed after a review of the boiler revealed that significant work would be required.<ref>SVR News 168</ref> 1501 was seen as a potential quick turnaround,<ref>SVR News 169</ref> and the locomotive left the Engine House in October 2009<ref>Wikipedia</ref> to begin an overhaul. 1501 was steamed again on 15 August 2012, re-entering service in BR lined black livery which, although not normally appropriate for shunting engines, was carried by 1503 and 1505 while at Old Oak Common.<ref>SVR News 179</ref>
A Valve and Piston overhaul in 2020 was completed in August 2020, only for a severe crack to be discovered in the right hand return crank. Fortunately, a replacement return crank was in store from its long scrapped sisters at Coventry Colliery.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/blsep20 Branch Lines newsletter, September 2020] (Retrieved 29 August 2020)</ref> The boiler certificate runs to February 2022 and an extension has been requested.<ref>SVR News 207, pp. 17, 44-46</ref><ref>SVR News 216, p. 17</ref>
In service on the SVR, 1501 has proved a powerful locomotive for its size, acquiring the nickname “the raging bull”. At the end of 2019, 1501 had recorded a total of 98,933 miles in preservation on the SVR. The reported total may include mileage 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 [[1501 Pannier Tank Association]].
==Trivia==
As noted above, 1501 is a member of the GWR 1500 class, also referred to as the 15xx Class. 108 0-6-0T 0ST tank engines of the 645 Class were built at the GWR’s Wolverhampton works between 1872 and 1881. The last 72 of these featured a revised design; the first of which was numbered 1501. This modified sub-class is therefore sometimes referred to as the “1501 Class”.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_645_Class 645 Class on Wikipedia]</ref>
==See also==
