No. 46521

LMS IVATT CLASS 2 2-6-0 46521

Designed by H. G. Ivatt, the locomotive was similar to the later BR Standard Class 2s, such as 78019 and 78018, though with some modifications. 46521 is one of 128 built and one of only seven preserved.

Built at Swindon on 19th February 1953 at a cost of £13,756, it was initially allocated to Oswestry. It spent nearly its entire working life in Wales, with a transfer to the London Midland Region for maintenance on 7th July 1962. Between 30th April and 1st June 1963, 46521 underwent heavy repairs at Crewe as it was earmarked for Royal Train duties during the Queen’s three-day visit to North Wales in August 1963. Its role included positioning moves and providing overnight steam heating to the Royal Train stock.

46521 was withdrawn on 29th October 1966 and arrived at Barry scrapyard in March 1967. Unusually, it still retained its original boiler at this point.

Preserved by Charles Newton in 1969, the locomotive was purchased and moved to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in 1971. After restoration, it returned to service in July 1974 and operated until being withdrawn on 24th August 1984. Following another overhaul, it re-entered service on the SVR in autumn 1991 and ran until withdrawal on 18th December 2000. Between 1974 and 2000, 46521 covered a total of 84,031 miles on the SVR, including charter runs on the British Rail network in 1992.

46521 gained popular fame as ‘Blossom’ in the BBC sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching!, filmed between 1995 and 1997. The locomotive was formally named ‘Blossom’ by actor Steven Lewis at a ceremony in February 1997.

Following negotiations between David Slack of the Loughborough Standard Locomotives Group Ltd (LSLG) and Charles Newton, 46521 was moved to the Great Central Railway (GCR) for overhaul by LSLG in November 2001. Ownership is shared equally between LSLG and Charles Newton, a similar arrangement to that of GCR-based BR Standard Class 2 78019.

46521 re-entered service at the GCR in 2012 following its overhaul and ran alongside 78019 for the first time in preservation. It operated reliably until 2022, visiting numerous railways across the country during its ten-year boiler ticket. It is currently undergoing overhaul.