Completed at Swindon in December 1954 82030 was sent to Barry shed, moving on to Shrewsbury in May 1955. The loco then became settled in the Worcester division, which included working trains to Gloucester, from December 1955 until January 1960, with short allocations to the divisions sheds at Kidderminster and Wellington and a brief stay at Bristol Bath Road in April/May 1958. Photographed at Swindon freshly out-shopped in lined green 18 Oct 1959 82030 moved to Bristol from January 1960, shifting to the Midland Barrow Road shed when Bath Road closed to steam before a move to Taunton in November 1961 where duties included trains on the now preserved Minehead line. In June 1964 the engine moved on to Exmouth Junction shed, then like many locomotives, 82030 was sent to Gloucester Horton Road shed in June 1965 shortly before withdraw from service in August.
This proved to be not quite the end of the line for 82030 however, as the engine was reinstated in November 1965 working from Bath Green Park ex-S&D shed until final withdraw effective December 31st 1965. The Somerset & Dorset route originally being scheduled to close 3 days later.
Model Features
- Die cast metal body and chassis
- Die cast wheels which are tapered from the rim inwards on both sides as per the prototype, with steel tyres
- Brake shoes in ABS plastic
- 5 pole skew wound precision motor
- Sprung centre driving wheel and pony trucks
- Die cast pivoted coupling and connecting rods, plated then blackened
- Fully working prototypical Walschaerts valve gear
- Easily removable cab roof (for adding a crew) by means of small magnets
- Working cab doors
- Wire handrails with stanchions in metal
- Sprung metal buffers and screw link couplings
- Full back head detail with reversing wheel in ABS
- Flickering firebox glow