LSWR ‘T3’ No. 563 takes shape at The Flour Mill on November 19. The tender is to be overhauled at Herston works.
NATHAN AU
A £25,000 appeal has been launched to help fund the restoration of the tender belonging to LSWR ‘T3’ 4-4-0 No. 563. Costing £50,000, the restoration of the tender will be undertaken in the Swanage Railway’s Herston engineering works. It is hoped to have the 4-4-0 back in action during 2023. The Swanage Railway Trust’s 563 Locomotive Group chairman Nathan Au said: “The last time that No. 563 hauled a train was in 1948, so for more than 70 years many thought they would never see a unique ‘T3’ work again.
“The only steam locomotive owned by the Swanage Railway Trust, a working ‘T3’ gives us the opportunity to show our visitors what the railway was like during the industrial and social development in Dorset at the end of the 19th century.”
Visit swanagerailwaytrust. org/appeal for details of how to donate to the tender appeal.