A locomotive built to help the allied war effort took a major step in its restoration yesterday (29th June 2012) when it moved around the yard at Cheddleton under its own steam for the first time in preservation and also the first time in the UK.
The privately owned locomotive is based on the Churnet Valley Railway and when final commissioning tests are complete will be running on the CVR and along the line to Cauldon Lowe.
In the fullness of time the locomotive will be prepared for use on Network Rail. This sees the possibility of through trains working from Cheddleton to Stoke on Trent and then onto the national network to such destinations as Chester, Llandudno and beyond.
Built in the United States in 1945 to a design by Major W Marsh this locomotive was shipped directly from the American factory to the then liberated France later that year. Used extensively in Europe it finally ended up in the Hungarian Railway system and was used by Hungarian railways until 1985.