WD190

WD 190 was built in 1952 by the Hunslet Engine Company Ltd. of Leeds to the famous Austerity saddle tank design. This was a slight modification of Hunslet\rquote s own design which was carried out by Mr R. A. Riddles during his wartime years with the Ministry of Supply. WD 190 was built for the War Department and sent to Long Marston for use by the Army. It also saw service at Bicester before transfer to the Royal Engineers at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1968. WD 190 was purchased for preservation in 1971 and after a brief spell at the East Anglian Railway Museum, became the first locomotive to arrive a t the Colne Valley Railway in September 1973. WD 190 has been the mainstay of steam services at the Railway and has 'clocked up' many more miles than the other locomotives. This locomotive bears Army olive green livery. The locomotive is owned by the Colne Valley Railway Preservation Society. WD190 was incidentally the first of the final batch of eleven locomotives of the same design which totalled 391 locomotives for army use. Some 49 of these locomotives have been preserved.