THE Dartmouth Steam Railway (DSR) has bolstered its steam fleet with the acquisition of GWR 2-8-0s No. 3803, and the remains of No. 2873, from the South Devon Railway (SDR) – the latter providing valuable additions to its spares pool.
No. 3803 has had relatively little use on the SDR but spent a number of seasons on hire to the Battlefield Line. Bought as a source of spares, No. 2873 remains in Barry scrapyard condition, but has provided parts to other locos – including coupling rods to Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway-based No. 2807 and its boiler to No. 3803, allowing the latter to return to steam in 2006.