After 12 years out of action, the Dartmouth Steam Railway is proud to announce the return to service of its BR STD Class 4 locomotive, no 75014 Braveheart.

She has recently emerged from the railway’s main workshops at Churston, after a lengthy rebuild.

Braveheart was built in December 1951, in the famous Swindon works, by British Railways.

The British Railway 4-6-0 standard class 4 was built for use on the Western, Midland and Southern regions of the recently nationalised rail network. They were extremely versatile mixed traffic locos, frequently used on passenger duties.

The engine was allocated to a number of Midland region sheds during its short life and 1964 saw it allocated to Shrewsbury from where it was withdrawn and sent to Barry scrap yard in December 1966.

In Barry scrap yard for fourteen years, it rotted and donated parts to other locos, until it was bought as a wreck in 1981. A four-man syndicate based on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway brought it back to steam in 1994.

For four consecutive years, 1995-98, it was the mainstay of the ‘Jacobite’ tourist train from Fort William. After a missing a year it returned in 2000 when it was named Braveheart, in recognition of the Mel Gibson film, which was shot in the West Highlands.

The syndicate decided to sell the loco in 2002 and the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company became the new owners.

After being withdrawn from service in 2004, her boiler was removed and sent to Crewe for repair, but it was soon realised just how much work would be required to return her to service.

The frames were completely stripped down to every nut and bolt and everything repaired, before being re-assembled. The boiler had a complete new barrel, two new tubeplates, crown stays, two new outer firebox sides and a new throatplate fitted at Crewe, before being returned to the railway in 2015 for the remaining work to be carried out by our own small team of skilled workshop staff.

This included riveting the foundation ring in, fitting around 800 stays, fitting the tubes and main steam pipe and new smokebox.

Once the boiler was tested and passed fit by the Boilersmith and the insurance company in July 2016, it was a race against time to get her all back together again. With the current workshop team never having worked on a BR STD before, it was a somewhat challenging and at times frustrating six weeks, with many head scratching moments, before she finally moved by herself for the first time in August 2016.

She undertook some running in trials around Churston, before the three-man team were happy she could venture out further afield. Satisfied with her performances, she re-entered the workshops in September 2016, to have the finishing touches sorted out and a fresh coat of paint.