SR V Schools Class No. 928 'Stowe'

SR V Class No. 928 "Stowe" is a preserved member of the Southern Railway's V Class of 4-4-0 "Eight-Wheeler" type steam locomotives. It was one of a class of 40 built that were named after British public schools and were designed by Richard Maunsell.
==History==
No. 928 was constructed in May 1934 at Eastleigh Works and was given the name "Stowe" after Stowe School, an English public school in Stowe, England. It entered service the same year and was sent to Fratton depot for work on the Waterloo – Portsmouth Harbour route. Upon nationalisation of the railways in 1948, it was renumbered and became British Railways (BR) No. 30928. It recorded more than a million miles of passenger service operation during its 28 years of Southern main line use before being withdrawn from active service in November 1962.
Stowe was purchased for preservation from British Railways for Lord Montagu's National Motor Museum. After standing in the open for some years, it was moved to the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore in 1973 before moving to the Bluebell Railway in 1980 where it was returned to working order by the Maunsell Locomotive Society in 1981. After ten years of operation Stowe was withdrawn after the expiration of its ten-year boiler ticket in 1991 and was in need of a full overhaul. 
In 2000 it was officially purchased by the Maunsell Locomotive Society which secured the future use of the locomotive on the Bluebell Railway where it can be employed to haul an authentic rake of Maunsell coaches. In 2003 the tender was completely rebuilt but the full overhaul on the locomotive did not start until 2013.
Stowe is still currently undergoing a full overhaul to this day. It is unknown when it will return to working order on the Bluebell Railway.
==Trivia==
*No. "928 "Stowe" is one of three surviving members of the SR V class in preservation. It's two other surviving sisters, No. 30925 "Cheltenham" is awaiting an overhaul at the Mid Hants Railway and No. 926 "Repton" is currently operational at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
*Its road delivery to the National Motor Museum to Beaulieu was covered for a Look at Life documentary episode, Turn of the Wheel.
==Gallery==
File:Stowe.JPG
==References==
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_V_class
*https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/30928-stowe-sr-e928-sr-928-br-30928/
Category:Bluebell Railway
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Maunsell locomotives
Category:Built in 1934
Category:Locomotives featured in media
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:4-4-0 locomotives
Category:4-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Category:Eastleigh Works
Category:United Kingdom
Category:SR V "Schools" Class
Category:British locomotives
Category:British steam locomotives
Category:Southern Railway (UK) locomotives
Category:British Rail locomotives