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No.85 (Currently No.14) is a 2-6-2 side tank steam locomotive.



History[]

No.85 was built by the Hunslet Engine company of Leeds, Yorkshire in England, United Kingdom as builders number 3815 of 1954 as the last of Sierra Leone Government Railway's (SLR) long line of 2-6-2 side tank engines.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

In 1975 the SLR closed and No.85 was withdrawn from service but before being scrapped the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in Powys, Wales in the United Kingdom purchased No.85 becoming their No.14 and entering traffic on the Welsh railway in 1978.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

It was retired from service in 2010 and was displayed at "Locomotion" in Sheldon which is part of the National Railway Museum before going on tour around the United Kingdom for a weekend in 2017. Currently awaiting an overhaul to return to steam and was moved to the Vale of Rheidol railway workshops in 2021.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]



Trivia[]

  • No.85 is technically the last preserved Sierra Leonean locomotive of any sort to be operational.
  • It is the only Sierra Leonean locomotive to be away from the country Sierra Leone it's self and the only one that isn't owned by the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum.
  • No.85 is the only locomotive to have not "witnessed" the brutal Sierra Leone civil war from 1991 to 2002.

Bibliography[]




Preserved Sierra Leonean Locomotives
Sierra Leone Government Railway (SLR) 0-4-0ST No. 10 'Nellie'
Class 81 No. 81No. 85 (W&LLR No. 14)
Class 63 No. 73
Class 101 No. 105No. 107
Class 120 No. 123No. 133














































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