LNER 246 / BR 62712 "Morayshire", Falkirk. 09.1975.

Laurie Mulrine
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LNER 246 / BR 62712
LNER 246 / BR 62712 "Morayshire", Falkirk. 09.1975.

LNER no. 246 / BR no. 62712 "Morayshire", is an LNER Class D49, which was built at the LNER Locomotive Works at North Road in Darlington, in February 1928.
It was withdrawn from BR service in July 1961, as the last working member of the class and was then moved to Slateford Laundry in Edinburgh for use as a stationary boiler. This lasted until January, 1962 when it was put into store at Dalry Road Edinburgh.
In 1962, Ian Fraser purchased the locomotive from BR and it was transferred to Dawsholm Shed in Glasgow.
In 1964 it was hauled by 62277 "Gordon Highlander" to Inverurie Works for restoration. ICI at Ardeer was able to store the locomotive until 1966 when it then moved to the Royal Elizabeth Dockyard at Dalmeny, where it was officially handed over to the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh.
In 1974 the Royal Scottish Museum agreed to loan it to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) with the aim of returning it to steam.
The locomotive participated in the 150th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway at Shildon in August, 1975 but spent much of the 1980's and 1990's in a static condition. It was based at Falkirk and used on the main line until withdrawn from service in 1983. After that, It was partially dismantled at Falkirk but due to the relocation of the SRPS to Bo’ness, other priorities intervened and the overhaul work only restarted in earnest in early 2000. This overhaul was completed in late July 2003, in time for the locomotive to participate in the open day at Doncaster Works. It finally became operational on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway in August 2005 but was taken out of service in November 2015, when its boiler certificate expired.
In 2016 agreement was reached between the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) and the National Museum of Scotland, who own the locomotive, to extend the loan of the locomotive for another ten years to 2026.
Also in 2016, the Scottish Railway Preservation Society arranged for the locomotive to be sent to the Llangollen Railway for a contract overhaul, with the hope that the locomotive would be running again by 2018.
In March 2020, it was reported that a dispute had developed and the locomotive was to be returned from the Llangollen Railway to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, without the overhaul being completed. In the event, the locomotive (as a kit of parts) was placed in store at a private site in the Midlands, prior to returning north.
In July 2020, an appeal for £100,000 was made to enable the overhaul to be completed. The plan is that a contractor will assemble the kit of parts to a rolling chassis and complete the hydraulic boiler tests before the locomotive is moved back to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. It will then be completed in LNER green and made available for hire on other heritage railways.

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Taken on: September 1, 1975
Sets appears in:   • British Pre- Grouping Locomotives    • D49: 62712 "Morayshire"   
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