The Dean Forest Railway Society has announced that it has purchased 50% ownership in Austerity steam locomotive, Wilbert.
The purchase comes thanks to an agreement with the Forest of Dean Railway Limited.
Responsibility for the fundraising and overhaul of the locomotive has now been transferred over to the Dean Forest Railway Society.
The locomotive was withdrawn from service in early 2016.
In the future, a dedicated fund will be set up for the locomotive’s overhaul, but first, a full assessment will be completed to find out what work is needed, and what the work will cost.
Wilbert was built in 1953 and is one of 485 Austerity locomotives built by Hunslet between 1943 and 1964. The locomotive worked for the National Coal Board but came to the Dean Forest Railway in 1976 where it was placed on a short length of track at Parkend.
The locomotive was named after Rev W Awdry in 1987 after the DFR president at the time.
This news comes after the success of the Emergency Fund in 2020, which has raised over £75,000 to help support the Dean Forest Railway through the coronavirus pandemic.
If you would like to help the Dean Forest Railway, please visit the Emergency Fund page on their website.
Where Next?
RAILADVENT NEWS
The latest railway news
FREE NEWSLETTERS
Signup to our daily and weekly newsletters
RAILADVENT SHOP
Railway Prints, DVD’s / Blu-Ray’s, books and more
LOCOSTOP COMMUNITY
Come and share your railway pictures
UK STEAM INFO
Upcoming mainline steam tours/loco movements
Dean Forest RAILway
Visit their website
Responses
What does 50% ownership mean?
A sensible way to fund the restoration and protect the loco if the Ltd co have problems. Not to sure about HLF funding if the society own only 50% of the asset.