Taken 16/02/19; despite approaching the end of its boiler certificate it looks to my inexpert eye as though the 9F has recently had some copper tubing replaced. I've cobbled together a history of No. 92212 from the M-HR website and from the Preserved British Steam Locomotives website:
No. 92212
The British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 was designed for BR by Robert Riddles. The 9F’s were the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for BR during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful locomotive types ever constructed in Britain and successfully performed its intended duties.
At various times during the 1950s, the 9Fs worked passenger trains with great success, indicating the versatility of the design, considered to represent the ultimate in British steam development. Several variants were constructed for experimentation purposes in an effort to reduce costs and maintenance, although these met with varying degrees of success. The total number built was 251, production being shared between Swindon (53) and Crewe Works (198). The last of the class, 92220 Evening Star, was the final steam locomotive to be built by BR, in 1960. Withdrawals began in 1964, with the final locomotives removed from service in 1968. Several examples have survived into the preservation era in varying states of repair, including Evening Star.
The 9F was designed at both Derby and Brighton Works in 1951 to operate freight trains of up to 900 tons (914 tonnes) at 35 mph (56 km/h) with maximum fuel efficiency. The original proposal was for a boiler from the BR Standard Class 7 Britannia 4-6-2, adapting it to a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement, but Riddles eventually settled upon a 2-10-0 type because it had been successfully utilised on some of his previous Austerity locomotives; distributing the adhesive weight over five axles gave a maximum axle load of only 15 tons, 10 cwt. However, in order to clear the rear coupled wheels the grate had to be set higher, thus reducing firebox volume.
There were many problems associated with locomotives of such a long wheelbase, but these were solved by the design team through a series of compromises. The driving wheels were 5 feet 0 inches (1.5 m) in diameter, and the centre driving wheels were without flanges, whilst those on the second and fourth coupled wheels were reduced in depth. This enabled the locomotive to round curves of a radius as small as 400 feet (120 m). 92212 returns following heavy overhaul and carries the Bath Green Park (82F) shed code where she was based for a short period in 1961. Whilst there she worked over the Somerset & Dorset hauling trains such as the ‘Pines Express’.
It was withdrawn from service in January 1968 and sold to Woodham Brother as scrap and arrived in the yard at Barry in September 1968. It left Barry in September 1979 after being there for eleven years.
It was bought from Woodham Brothers for £10,000 by 92212 Holdings Ltd, and moved to the Great Central Railway at Loughborough in September 1979. Prior to this a group of prospective owners had contacted the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in 1976 with a view to basing the locomotive on the SVR.
The restoration of 92212 was completed at Loughborough in September 1996.
It was hired by the SVR for the winter of 2001 and again for the summer of 2011.
92212 was later purchased by Jeremy Hosking whilst the locomotive was being overhauled on the Mid Hants Railway where it is now based.
It returned to service on the Mid Hants Railway in September 2011 but was then hired by the Bluebell railway to provide cover whilst that railway was short of operating locomotives.
In 2013 92212 returned to the Mid Hants Railway.
The boiler certificate will expire in June 2019 after which the boiler will be overhauled at Crewe and fitted with the boiler from No. 92245with the aim in having the locomotive back in steam quickly.
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