The story behind ‘T3’ No. 563’s extraordinary journey from museum relic to restored locomotive in just over six years.
It is probably fair to say that, prior to March 30 2017, very few people gave much thought to ‘T3’ No. 563. To many, it was ‘just another’ locomotive in the National Collection – merely one of several elegant Victorian 4‐4‐0s, whose history and significance were obscure. It arguably wasn’t a ‘star’ exhibit like Mallard or Duchess of Hamilton and, as it had not yet steamed in the preservation era, it had a low profile compared to the likes of Stirling ‘Single’ No. 1 or Hardwicke, or any of the other pre‐Grouping locomotives that were briefly reactivated during the 1970s and 1980s.
In playing its role in two stage productions of E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children, its status had largely reduced to that of a prop, a background player. One could hardly imagine the likes of Mallard or City of Truro being treated as such, rather than cherished as the unique and important relic that it was, and still is.
All that changed on that day in spring 2017. Overnight, there was hardly an enthusiast who didn’t know the number 563. The NRM’s decision to deaccession the ‘T3’ from the National Collection and donate it to the Swanage Railway Trust was debated at length on platforms and in mess rooms across the country, as well as in magazine columns, on social media, and online forums, and even in the Houses of Parliament.
Even without such a controversial backdrop, the restoration of ‘T3’ No. 563 to working order for the first time since 1948 was always going to make headlines. Indeed, no standard gauge steam locomotive has been restored after such a long period out of traffic. At a time when preservation sometimes feels like it has lost some of its lustre, the ‘T3’ feels like a much-needed shot in the arm.
Bolt from the blue
However, we’re jumping ahead, because No. 563’s restoration journey really started in December 2015, when No. 563 had been at King’s Cross for just over a year. It was at this point that the National Railway Museum first approached the Swanage Railway Trust to gauge its interest in the ‘T3’. In justifying its reasons for disposing of No. 563, the NRM later said: “We had a number of 4‐4‐0 type locomotives, mostly from the Victorian or Edwardian eras, which had resulted in an imbalance of locomotives from this period in the collection. We concluded that gifting the ‘T3’ to a well-re
