The Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society now owns a number of locomotives, including Stanier Black 5 No.45379 and BR Standard 4 No.75079. 45379 is one of the successful “Black Five” 4-6-0 mixed traffic locomotives designed by William Stanier. Built by Armstrong Whitworth of Newcastle in July 1937 and first allocated to Crewe, it moved to Rugby in 1948 at nationalisation, back to Crewe in 1956 and on to Bletchley in 1961. Although Black Fives remained in service until the last day of mainline steam forty years ago, 45379 moved to Willesden in 1964 from where it was withdrawn in the summer of 1965 going to Barry scrap yard later that year.
In 1974 it was bought for restoration and taken to the Avon Valley Railway, later to The Great Central Railway. It was bought from there by MHRPS coming to Alresford on 1st March 2002. Black Fives occasionally worked as far south as Bournemouth and even ran over the Mid-Hants. This locomotive is large enough for the steep gradients here at the Mid-Hants, but small enough to be economical.
The restoration of 45379 was completed in time for our Somerset & Dorset Steam Spectacular on 10-12 September where she appeared alongside visiting S&DJR engine 7F No. 88 and featured on local TV News, the 5 year restoration effort visible for all to see. 45379 had not steamed since 1965, so the S&D event was the first time she had hauled a revenue earning service for over 45 years ! She certainly isn't camera shy, 45379 is due to feature in a forthcoming episode of a hit TV show, having been used for filming work recently.
45379 is now a fully fledged member of the MHR fleet and is rostered on our services as required - please see Loco Roster for latest information on what is running and when. Why not see for yourself what has been a true labour of love return to its rightful place, back in steam, hauling trains once more.
Do you have a story relating to this locomotive? Do you have any old pictures of her in service? If so, we'd love to hear from you! We would like to build up comprehensive histories of the engines based here at the MHR, but we can't do it without your support. Any images or information sent will be acknowledged accordingly. Please contact us through RAILMAIL. We look forward to hearing from you.
Much has been written about the Black 5's. Here are only a few of our recommendations:
Locomotives In Detail - Stanier 4-6-0 Class 5 by John Jennison and David Clarke, published by Ian Allen.
The Power Of The Black 5's by Gavin Morrison, published by OPC
Pictorial coverage with captions, black and white throughout. Useful reference.
Also worth checking out are the following DVD's:
Black 5 - The Last Days Of Steam by The British Film Institute
Taking footage shot at the time with commentary from the men that worked on them, this takes you back to the last days of steam when all that beckoned next was the scrap yard. It's not a glossy documentary, but has a period charm that's well worth a look.