S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 No. 53808

S&DJR 88, LMS 9678, LMS 13808 & BR 53808
Technical specifications
Designer(s)	Henry Fowler
Manufacturer(s)	Robert Stephenson & Co.
Build date	July 1925
Classification	Power class: SDJR: 5P/5G LMS: 7F
Rail gauge	4 Foot 8 Inches
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Cylinders	Two, outside
Boiler type	G9BS
Boiler pressure	190 lbf/in2 (1.31 MPa)
Bore stroke	21 in × 28 in (533 mm × 711 mm)
Firegrate area	28.4 sq ft (2.64 m2)
Fuel type	Coal
Performance figures
Tractive effort	35,295 lbf (157.00 kN)
Factor of adhesion	3.5
Service information
Running numbers	S&DJR: 88 LMS: 9678 later 13808 BR: 53808
Disposition details
Disposition	Preserved

No. 53808 (S&DJR 88/LMS 9678/LMS 13808) is one of 11 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) 7F 2-8-0 steam locomotives. They were built and designed for hauling heavy coal and goods trains, but were also occasionally used for summer Saturday passenger trains.

Operational history

Starting out as S&DJR No. 88, it was is one of five locomotives that were in the second batch of 7Fs which were built at the Darlington Works of Robert Stephenson & Co in 1925. When built it had a larger diameter boiler but this was replaced in 1953 as part of a general repair. At this time the boiler was found to be unfit for further use but the rest of the locomotive was considered to still have a few years of useful life left so it received a second hand boiler from Midland Railway 4P 4-4-0 No. 41092.

The locomotive spent its working life based at Bath (Green Park). It mainly worked local goods trains between Bath and Evercreech Junction, which involved a stiff climb over the Mendip Hills in both directions, although in the post-war period it was also used to haul some of the many Summer Saturday holiday trains to and from the North, working between Bath and Bournemouth.

In 1930 S&DJR locomotives were taken into the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) fleet so it became number 9678, but this was later changed to 13808 in 1932. Upon nationalisation of the railways in 1948, it was renumbered once again and became British Railways (BR) 53808.

It was withdrawn from service in 1964 and was sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry.

Preservation

Not wanting to lose one of the last remaining examples of this class to the scrap man, No. 53808 was purchased for preservation in 1970 by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust (S&DRT) and moved to their base at the then Radstock depot. Their museum at Radstock was closed in 1976 and so their locomotives and rolling stock were all moved to the West Somerset Railway (WSR).

It returned to service following a lengthy restoration at the WSR in August 1987 and ran regular service carrying several different numbers and liveries over the years up until Spring 1996 when it was withdrawn for an overhaul, during which time it only made one visit away from the WSR, to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in September 1995.

After the overhaul, No. 53808 returned to service again in December 2005. Still based at the WSR it made three return visits to the SVR in March 2007, March 2008, and September 2014, as well as making its first time visits to the Mid-Hants Railway in September 2010, and the Great Central Railway in October 2011, before being withdrawn once again for an overhaul in October 2014. This second overhaul was completed in February 2016.

In August 2020 it was announced that the locomotive was being moved to the Mid-Hants Railway for a two year period until November 2022 for the remainder of its boiler certificate. The WSR plans to have the locomotive return to the line sometime in 2024 and begin overhauling the engine as soon as possible.

Trivia

• No. 53808 is one of only two surviving examples of the S&DJR 7F 2-8-0s left in preservation.
• No. 53808/88 and No. 53809/89 (the other survivor of the class) met for the first time in preservation at the West Somerset Railway during 2006, 40 years after the Somerset & Dorset Railway closed.

Gallery