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[[File: SR_34053_20120922{{Infobox southern steam loco|image = 34053 SKP Highley 2016.jpg JPG|thumbcaption = 34053 at Highley in 2016|300pxconstruc = SR Brighton Works|rightwheels = 4-6-2|rating = 7P6F|status = Left the SVR| locono = 34053 Sir Keith Park]]|othernos = SR 21C153|designed = Oliver Bulleid|locotype = '''SR Battle Of Britain Class'''|built = 1947|years1 = 1966|events1 = Withdrawn by BR|years2 =1984|events2 =34053 Sir Keith Park in Left Barry|years3 = 2012|events3 = Entered serviceon SVR|years4 = 2018|events4 = Moved to Swanage Railway|years5 =|events5 =|years6 = |events6 = |length = 67ft 4¾"|weight = 86t|power = 27,720 lb|pressure = 250 lb/sq in}} The SR 'West Country ' and 'Battle of Britain ' classes were designed by Oliver Bulleid, the CME of the Southern Railway (SR). Lighter in weight than their sister locomotives, the Merchant Navy class, they could be used on a wide wider variety of routes including in the south-west of England and the Kent coast. They were a mixed-traffic design, being used for both passenger and freight trains, and were rated classified 7P6F by British Railways.
[[Category:Operational steam locomotives]][[Category:Locomotives at Bridgnorth]]{{SteamNavbox}}
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Originally built with innovative features including air-smoothed casings and chain-driven valve gear, many of the locomotives including 34053 were rebuilt by British Railways in the late 1950s.
==34053 Sir Keith Park in service==
34053 was built in 1946 at the SR’s Brighton Works and entered service as SR no [[UIC classification | 21C153]]. It was originally allocated to Salisbury MPD but also worked from the Stewarts Lane depot, where it hauled prestige services such as the Golden Arrow on many occasions. In 1960 it was transferred to Bournemouth, where it often hauled the Pines Express on the Somerset & Dorset Railway.
34053 was withdrawn from service by BR in October 1966 and towed to [[Barry Scrapyard | Woodham's scrap yard scrapyard]] at Barry the following March. <gallery>File:Sir Keith Park 34053 (8426231585).jpg | 34053 at Barry in 1968 (Wikimedia Commons)</gallery>
==34053 in preservation==
[[File: 34053_20120919.jpg |thumb|300px|right| 34053's slide bars]]
34053 left Barry in 1984. Evidence of her time spent there can still be seen today in the form of the words "Sold Mr Woodham" which are visible on the lower left slide bar. After various owners and lengthy periods in store, restoration was finally completed by [[Southern Locomotives Limited]] (SLL) in May 2012at a cost of £773,000. Having no need of the locomotive at Swanage, agreement was reached for 34053 to come to the SVR , with the agreement carrying a break clause every two years. The locomotive arrived at Bridgnorth on 10 May and during running-in pulled its first passenger train in 47 years on 31 July by assisting a struggling [[GWR 5700 Class 3650]]. It entered service on 24 August.<ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2419 SVR Forum]</ref> On 31 August 2013 a recommissioning ceremony was held at [[Kidderminster]] attended by three aircrew who served during the Battle of Britain and the New Zealand High Commissioner, Sir Lockwood Smith. The return to [[Kidderminster]] saw the New Zealand High Commissioner on the footplate. The ceremony welcome pack can be viewed [http://www.southern-locomotives.co.uk/News/SKP_Welcome%20Pack.pdf here]. In August 2017 the SVR announced it had mutually agreed with [[Southern Locomotives Limited|SLL]] that the option to renew would not be actioned at the end of 2017, with 34053 moving to the Swanage Railway for an indefinite periodthe rest of the locomotive's certificate.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/34053-sir-keith-park SVRLive 23 August 2017]</ref> SKP ran her last SVR services on 2 January before winter maintenance works and her move to Swanage on 10 January 2018.<ref>SVR News 200</ref> 34053 recorded a total of 41,405 miles in preservation on the SVR. The reported total may include mileage on hire to other railways while resident here<ref>SVR News 210, SVR-based Steam Locomotive Mileage 2017-2019, Duncan Ballard.</ref> 34027 moved to the Spa Valley Railway in September 2020, remaining in service there until the end of the locomotive's boiler ticket in 2022. After some SLL intended to carry out a 'fast track' overhaul which will incorporate the replacement of its current boiler by that of its classmate 34010 ''Sidmouth'fine tuning' , with an intended return to service on arrival at Bridgnorththe Spa Valley Railway in 2023.<ref>[https://southern-locomotives.co.uk/News/news.html SLL Website News, May 2022 ''34053 entered service in Sir Keith Park''] (retrieved 17 August 20122022)</ref> By coincidence, Sidmouth's boiler spent some years at [[Bridgnorth MPD]] where it was used as a 'template' during the overhaul of [[34027|Taw Valley]].<gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">Sidmouth_Boiler_20150503.jpg|Boiler from 34010 Sidmouth at Bridgnorth (2015)</gallery> == See also ==*[[Former Residents]] *[[SVR-based locomotives visiting other events]]
== See Also References==[[Steam Locomotives]] <brreferences />[[List of preservation groups]]
== Links ==
*[http://www.southern-locomotives.co.uk/ Southern Locomotives Limited website]*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_West_Country_and_Battle_of_Britain_classes SR West Country and Battle of Britain class locomotives on Wikipedia]
