LNER Class D49 No. 246 Morayshire

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) No. 246/62712 "Morayshire" is a preserved D49 Class 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for express passenger services. 
== Operational history ==
"Morayshire" was completed at Darlington Works in February 1928 as No. 246. From 1928 to Nationalisation in 1948 it was allocated to Dundee, Perth, Haymarket and St Margarets. By the time it arrived at Haymarket in 1944 "Morayshire" had undergone five general overhauls and one heavy overhaul. These included new frames and cylinders in 1935 and the boiler was changed about four times. When originally built the engine was fitted with Westinghouse air braking.
In the LNER renumbering of 1946 "Morayshire" was allocated to 2712 and under British Rail (BR) it was amended to 62712. In 1958 the engine was moved to Thornton Junction before being transferred to Hawick in 1960. 
"Morayshire" was withdrawn from service in July 1961 as the last working member of the class. Instead of being cut up for scrap, it was moved to Slateford Landry in Edinburgh to be used as a stationary boiler. This lasted until January 1962 at which time the locomotive was put away into storage at Dalry Road in Edinburgh.
== Preservation ==
"Morayshire" was purchased in 1962 by Ian Fraser, a worker from Darlington who had previously worked on the D49 Class. In 1964 "Morayshire" was hauled to Inverurie Works for restoration before officially being donated to the Royal Scottish Museum in 1966. It was restored to running condition and appeared at the Stockton & Darlington 150 celebrations, but spent much of the 1980s and 1990s in static condition. "Morayshire" was loaned to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society who returned it to running condition in 2005 on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway.
"Morayshire" was taken out of service in November 2015 when its boiler certificate expired. Work on the boiler is almost complete and the locomotive is expected to return to steam sometime in 2023.
==Gallery==
* Gallery
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