Bodmin & Wenford Railway

BODMIN & WENFORD RAILWAY
Ex GWR "4575" Class small Prairie 2-6-2T No 5552

Above 5552 outside the running shed.

picture of loco at Barry scrap yard

5552 in the scrap yard at Barry

The first “small prairie” was built in 1904 to cope with the gradients of west country and welsh lines. It was an alteration on the theme of the “large prairie”. 5552 is a member of the 4575 class, which was a derivation of the 4500 class. The only difference being that the 4575’s had slope topped tanks, giving slightly larger water capacity. The 4575 class was built between 1927 and 1929, 5552 being completed at Swindon Works in November 1928. From there she entered traffic at Tysley shed and worked local services in the Birmingham area until 1931 when she was transferred to Bristol Bath Road. In 1937 she was transferred to Newton Abbot, this was the start of a long association with the Kingsbridge branch.

By 1955 new BR standard tanks arrived and 5552 was transferred to Plymouth Laira and then on to Truro where she was to stay until withdrawal in October 1960. Whilst at Truro her duties included the Falmouth, Newquay and Newham Quay branches working both goods and local passenger services. The loco stood at Barry scrap yard in South Wales for 25 years before being purchased by the B&W for restoration, she returned to steam in August 2003. As you can see from the picture above 5552 was in a very poor condition. So much so, that a group of enthusiasts went to Barry looking for a small tank engine, with the aim of purchasing 5552. When they saw the state of her they backed out and instead bought 4247, who would have thought that they would again be reunited… At a meeting of the Bodmin Railway Preservation Society, during some hard times for the railway, it was debated whether 5552 should be sold, luckily after a few raised words the decision was taken to keep her as an asset for the future.

The small prairies were perfect for the local service trains because they had good water capacity and could pick up to line speed quickly. Although they are not known for their traction, for their size they are not too powerful and can “pick up their feet”. The 4500 class were the usual engines on the Bodmin line, working only with 2 coaches, a “B set”, today we run with a normal loading of 3 or 4 coaches, however, in “steam days” the General-Parkway line speed was 40 mph.

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