A rare opportunity to photograph 4575 Class No.5542 in BR green livery just prior to withdrawal

About this event

We are delighted to be able to offer a full day of photography in the West Country featuring 'Small Prairie' No.5542 which is appearing briefly in British Railways green livery immediately prior to being withdrawn for overhaul. Our aim is to pair the locomotive with two carmine and cream coaches and hopefully add at least one milk tanker to the rear of the train. This will make for an extremely attractive formation recalling the tranquil days of the steam-worked rural byways of the 1950s and early 1960s prior to the withdrawal of Western Region steam in 1965.

Our day will start and finish at Buckfastleigh station and travel will be by train throughout. The light should be getting in at all of the better locations at this time of year, and we will be visiting as many of these as time allows during the course of the day. Places will be limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

No.5542 was one of a 100-strong class of 2-6-2Ts built at Swindon works for lighter duties. It entered traffic at Gloucester Depot on 2nd August 1928. Always a West Country engine, it worked for 33 years until final withdrawal from Westbury Shed on 8th December 1961, being sent for scrap in February 1962. One of three similar locomotives purchased for use of the fledgling West Somerset Railway from Woodham Brothers' Scrap Yard at Barry in 1976, No.5542 was sold to a private group in 1979. After a lengthy period of fundraising and restoration, 5542 steamed for the first time at Washford on the West Somerset Railway in 2002. Now coming to the end of its second boiler ticket in preservation, 5542 has primarily worked on the South Devon Railway and the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway in recent years.

The South Devon Railway was originally constructed as a broad gauge line and opened on 1st May 1872. The line was nine miles in length, running beyond its current Buckfastleigh terminus to Ashburton; the line was severed during early preservation days in 1971 by major road construction. The route connected with the main line at Totnes and was converted to standard gauge in 1892, having been taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1876. Passenger trains ceased as early as 3rd November 1958, though goods traffic survived a further four years until 7th September 1962. The Dart Valley Light Railway Company Limited was formed to run this (and later the Paignton branch as the Dart Valley Railway Company Plc), with the first passenger trains running on 5th April 1969 and an official opening held on 21st May 1969. When it was decided the Buckfastleigh to Totnes line was uneconomic in the late 1980s, a new operator was sought and this route passed to the South Devon Railway Trust in 1991, with the first train of the new era running on 29th March of that year. Since then, the line has continued to flourish as a tourist attraction and a lasting reminder of the fondly-recalled days of Western Region branch line steam.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Spare batteries
• Camera
• Lenses
• Camera protection - rain covers etc

Other things you should bring

• Snacks

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Low

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• Warm clothing
• Wet weather gear