Changes

|status = In ServiceLeft the SVR

|years1 = 19661965

|years4 = 2018|events4 = Moved from the SVR

The '''34053 Sir Keith Park''' is a SR 'West CountryClass 4-6-2 ' and 'Battle of BritainPacific' classes were designed by Oliver (O.V.S.) Bulleid, the CME of the Southern Railway (SR). Lighter than their sister locomotives, and was one of the Merchant Navy class, they could be used on a wider variety of routes including Class rebuilt by British Railways in the south-west of England late 1950s with streamline casing removed and its chain valve gear replaced with the Kent coastWalschaerts type. They were a mixed-traffic design, being used for both passenger A description of the Class and freight trains, and were rated 7P6F by British Railwaysfeatures of the rebuilding programme can be found on the [[SR 34027 Taw Valley | 34027 Taw Valley]] page.

Originally ==34053 Sir Keith Park in service==34053 was built with innovative features including air-smoothed casings in 1946 at the SR’s Brighton Works and chainentered service at Salisbury MPD as SR no [[UIC classification | 21C153]]. It was named by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Park Air Vice-driven valve gearMarshal Sir Keith Park] at Brighton station on 19 September 1947. It also worked on extended loan from the Stewarts Lane depot, where it hauled prestige services such as the Golden Arrow on many occasions, and it was during that period it first carried its BR number 34053 in June 1949. It had brief spells at Nine Elms in 1950 and Exmouth Junction in 1951, either side of a trip to Eastleigh where it was noted ex works in dark green livery in January 1951. It returned to Salisbury the locomotives including 34053 were following June. In 1958 it was fitted with a larger water capacity LP Series 2 tender, then rebuilt by British Railways in November of that year. In 1960 it was transferred to Bournemouth, where it often hauled the late 1950sPines Express on the Somerset & Dorset Railway. A further trip to Eastleigh followed in 1963.

==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it was transferred to Bournemouth, where it often hauled the Pines Express on the Somerset & Dorset Railway. 34053 was withdrawn from service by BR in October 1966 and 1965, by which time it had run 825,317 miles. It was towed to [[Barry Scrapyard | Woodham's scrapyard]] at Barry the following March. Some connecting rods in 34053's tender struck a bridge near Chandler's Ford and the convoy of locos were left at the east siding of Romsey station for several weeks.

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 for an indefinite period, with the agreement carrying a break clause every two years. After some 'fine tuning' on arrival The locomotive arrived at Bridgnorth, 34053 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 in on 24 August 2012.<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 the 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>  34053 moved to the Spa Valley Railway in September 2020, remaining in service there until the end of the locomotive's boiler ticket in 2022. Its subsequent overhaul incorporated a swap of its current boiler with that of its classmate 34010 ''Sidmouth''<ref>[https://southern-locomotives.co.uk/News/news.html SLL Website News, January 2024 ''34053 Sir Keith Park''] (retrieved 27 January 2024)</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 also ==*[[Former Residents]] *[[Steam LocomotivesSVR-based locomotives visiting other events]] <br> ==References==*[https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=346201053&loco=21C153 BR Database 34053 webpage]*[List of preservation groupshttps://www.southern-locomotives.co.uk/34053/34053_BR_Service.html Southern Locomotives Limited 34053 webpage]*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Battle_of_Britain_class_21C153_Sir_Keith_Park 21C153 Wikipedia page]<references />

*[http://www.southern-locomotives.co.uk/ Southern Locomotives Limited website]<br>*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_West_Country_and_Battle_of_Britain_classes SR West Country and Battle of Britain class locomotives on Wikipedia]