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Welsh Guardsman now hauling service trains
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'''WD 71516 "Welsh Guardsman"''' is a WD Austerity 0-6-0ST. It arrived on the SVR in February 2020 , initially as a temporary resident. It hauled SVR trains from 2022.
At the beginning of World War 2 the War Department initially selected the [[48773|LMS 3F 0-6-0T 'Jinty']] as its standard shunting locomotive. However they were persuaded by the Hunslet Engine Company that a simplified version of that company's 50550 0-6-0ST design would be more suitable. The first locomotive was completed at their Leeds works at the start of 1943, with a total of 377 being ordered during the war and completed to the requirements of the Ministry of Supply by 1947. A number of these engines were built by Andrew Barclay, W. G. Bagnall, Hudswell Clarke, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns, and the Vulcan Foundry, all acting as sub-contractors.
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On 27 February 2020 WD 71516 arrived by road at Bridgnorth. The SVR announced that it had ''...agreed to host Welsh Guardsman while the owner decides on the operating opportunities for the loco during the 2020 season. [[Bridgnorth Loco Works|Bridgnorth Locomotive Works]] will undertake some examination and maintenance work and we will potentially have the chance to use the locomotive''.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/blmar20 'Welsh Guardsman touches down', Branch Lines March 2020] (Retrieved 7 December 2020)</ref> The [[2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic]] meant the locomotive stayed at Bridgnorth with occasional steamings within station limits only for exam purposes until, on 7 December 2020, the SVR announced that the locomotive was on hire to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.<ref>[https://www.svr.co.uk/MeetTheLoco.aspx?id=20 'Meet Our Locomotives', SVR Website] (Retrieved 7 December 2020)</ref> A further loan period followed in 2021/22 before the locomotive returned, advertised to make making its SVR formal debut at the 2022 [[Spring Steam Gala]]before hauling service trains.
The locomotive is owned by '''Felinfoel Brewery'''<ref name=Gwili/>.
