SLR Class 63 No. 73

No.73 is a 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt steam locomotive.
== History ==
No.73 was built in 1955 by Beyer, Peacock and company as builders number 7717 to a gauge of 2 ft 6 in for the Sierra Leone Government Railway (SLR) in Africa as part of their 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt locomotives to provide effective haulage capabilities mainly for goods traffic despite the lines small gauge the Garratt's had a 5 ton axle-load.https://www.sierraleonerailwaymuseum.org/our-amazing-storyhttps://scontent.fper7-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/128722286_3725307047508130_5075386347465180993_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=RqRI6A1x2coAX_1_jMg&_nc_ht=scontent.fper7-1.fna&oh=00_AT-q9EinWgPw_FQ0B38_E5LEJW3eLM_OH_CCZCcIuzhBYA&oe=62845896https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=21978https://www.steamlocomotive.info/nloconoteshow.cfm?which=21978https://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=Sierra_Leone&wheel=Beyer-Garratt&railroad=slgr
No.73 was withdrawn when the railway closed in 1975 and by the order of the general manager Richard Norman was stored at the back of the carriage works in Cline, Freetown with the doors welded firmly shut to prevent it and other rolling stock inside from being scrapped.
The collection including No.73 were suspected to have been scrapped during the bloody Sierra Leonean civil war which lasted from 1991 to 2002 with many casualties. During this time the carriage works were used as a sort of refugee housing until they were abandoned after the civil war.
The collection was re-discovered by a British Army officer Colonel Steve Davies following the civil war. He was a railway enthusiast who helped establish the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum which opened in 2005. No.73 is on display having been restored to static condition.
== Trivia ==
* No.73 is the largest locomotive preserved in Sierra Leone and the largest in the National Museum's collection.
* It is the only Garratt locomotive surviving in Sierra Leone since No.56 (A 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt) was scrapped in a railyard at Bauya, Sierra Leone.
== Bibliography ==
Category:Locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Garratt locomotives
Category:4-8-2+2-8-4 Locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Built in 1955
Category:Sierra Leone
Category:2 foot 6 inch gauge
Category:Narrow-gauge
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives
Category:Narrow-gauge steam locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:Beyer locomotives
Category:Sierra Leone Government Railway
Category:Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Freight locomotives
Category:Civil War Locomotives
Category:Africa
Category:Articulated locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives