LMS 5MT Black 5 44806

LMS Stanier class 5MT 4-6-0 4806 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It was built at Derby in 1944.

In 1948, nationalisation under British Railways changed her number to 44806, as previously LMS engines gained a 4 as a distinguishing prefix.

As a member of the highly useful "Black 5" class, 44806 was one of the last locomotives to be withdrawn from service, surviving until 1968, the last year of steam on British Railways steam.

Preservation

44806 was an early candidate for preservation, moving directly from BR to the "Steamtown" collection at Carnforth, housed in the same loco depot where steam's final fires had been dropped only recently before. She fortunately avoided the usual years of neglect and parts-stripping in Woodhams' Scrapyard.

In preservation she was also unusually well-travelled between museums and lines, although staying in the North West of England. Some years were spent based in Accrington, with working excursions to a planned preserved line at Helmshore. Although these exact plans never quite came to fruition after the station's closure in 1972, most of the line survived as what is now the East Lancashire Railway. cite web
title=A History of the East Lancashire Railway
url=http://east-lancs-rly.co.uk/?p=history&m=43
publisher= [http://east-lancs-rly.co.uk East Lancashire Railway] ]

In 1973, 44806 was based for a short time at the newly-reopened Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, as their largest and only tender engine. Operating a large tender engine was difficult though, on a line without a turntable. Whilst at Haverthwaite, 44806 was adopted by the ITV children's TV series Magpie and named "Magpie". The Magpie program was always in competition with the BBC's comparable Blue Peter, who had earlier adopted the LNER A2 Peppercorn 532 Blue Peter, conveniently built under that name.

Shortly after this, a crack was found in the boiler, in the outer firebox. Haverthwaite didn't have the workshop facilities for an engine of this length or weight, so she was moved yet again, this time to "Steamport" in Southport. These were busy times for the British steam preservation movement, with many new projects and scrapyard rescues all competing for attention, time and money. As a result, 'Magpie' languished. In 1983, with a wind-down of Steamport owing to pressure over the site, Magpie moved to Manchester and the Museum of Science and Industry, as a purely static exhibit.

Return to steam

In 1993, 44806 and her 20-year old firebox crack travelled to the Llangollen Railwaycite web
url=http://llangollenrail.llangollen-railway.co.uk/steamlocoinfo.html
title=Llangollen Railway
publisher= [http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk Llangollen Railway] ] , where repair work began. This work took almost three years to complete, with a return to steam on 15 September 1995. She worked on the Llangollen for nearly ten years, first back as 4806 in black LMS livery with red lining, then once again as 44806 wearing the BR "ferret and a dartboard" tender badges with red and white lining.

Return to steam again

Expiry of her 10 year boiler certificate prompted another rebuild. The work this time was less serious, being mostly wear items such as boiler tubes, firebox stays and worn tyres, but any work on engines of this size is a major undertaking. The work was completed successfully and she returned to steam on 29 August 2007 and was back in service on 14 September. cite web
url=http://llanrailarchive.llangollen-railway.co.uk/sloco44806.html
title=44806 Magpie history (many photographs)] Her new livery was again BR period, but this time in unlined gloss black.

Since her initial preservation, 44806 had been privately owned by one man, Ken Aldcroft. Aldcroft died in 2003, 44806 passing to his daughter Ms Renee Wyatt. To commemorate Aldcroft's 35 years of preservation (he owned her for ten years more than the original owners!), she was re-named "Kenneth Aldcroft". A pair of splendid brass nameplates were cast in the LMS style (named Black 5s were rare, but not unheard of), far more impressive than Magpie's, and on 23 September she took her new name.

Current status

44806 "Kenneth Aldcroft" is now based and working at the Llangollen Railway. #ifeq:CURRENTYEAR|2008|This year is |2008 was the 40th anniversary of the end of British Railways steam, and of 44806' own preservation.

References