No. 78019

BRITISH RAILWAYS CLASS 2 2-6-0 78019

Designed by R. A. Riddles as part of the BR Standard fleet, 78019 is a modified version of the Ivatt Class 2, similar to locomotive 46521. It is one of 65 built and one of only four preserved today.

78019 was built at Darlington and emerged in March 1954. It spent its early years working in the northeast, later moving to the northwest, before finally being allocated to Willesden (1A). There, it worked empty stock trains out of Euston until the end of steam operations at the station.

After withdrawal in 1966, 78019 was sent to Woodham’s scrapyard in Barry, South Wales. It was the 35th locomotive to be purchased from Barry for preservation. Initially moved to a private site, it later spent over 20 years at the Severn Valley Railway.

In 1998, a deal between 78019’s owner, Charles Newton, and the Loughborough Standard Locomotive Group Ltd resulted in joint ownership of the locomotive. Following this, 78019 was moved to Loughborough and restoration work began.

The locomotive returned to traffic for the first time in 2004 and operated until 2015, when a burst main steam pipe prematurely ended its running season.

After another overhaul, 78019 re-entered service in 2022. That year, it ran alongside its sister engine, 78018, marking the first time two Standard Class 2 locomotives had run together in preservation since their days with British Railways.