LB&SCR E4 class 473 Birch Grove

LB&SCR E4 Class 473 Birch Grove
B473 at Horsted Keynes.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer R. J. Billinton Builder Brighton Works Build date June 1898 Rebuild date 1911
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-2T Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Driver dia. 5 ft 0 in (1.524 m) Length 35 ft 3 in (10.744 m) Loco weight E4: 56 long tons 15 cwt (127,100 lb or 57.7 t) to 57 long tons 10 cwt (128,800 lb or 58.4 t) (63.6 to 64.4 short tons) E4X: 59 long tons 5 cwt (132,700 lb or 60.2 t) (66.4 short tons) Fuel type Coal Water cap. 1,408 imp gal (6,400 L; 1,691 US gal) Boiler pressure E4: 160 or 170 psi (11.03 or 11.72 bar; 1.10 or 1.17 MPa) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 17.5 in × 26 in (444 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort E4: 18,050 or 19,175 lbf (80,290 or 85,290 N)
Career Operators LB&SCR, Southern Railway British Railways Class E4 Power class BR: 2MT Numbers LBSCR 473 SR B473 SR 2473 BR s2473 BR 32473 Retired October 1962 Disposition On static display, Awaiting overhaul

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E4 class number 473 Birch Grove is an LB&SCR E4 class 0-6-2T tank engine built in 1898 at Brighton Works for the LB&SCR, the locomotive primarily performed suburban passenger duties, and later did local passenger, freight, and branch work for almost fifty years, which is currently preserved on the Bluebell Railway. Initially painted in Stroudley's famous "Improved Engine Green", in 1912 it was later reboilered by D. E. Marsh with an I1-type boiler, and re-painted in dark umber livery.

After being re-numbered B473 and 2473 under the Southern Railway, in February 1948 it was one of the first Southern locos to receive "BRITISH RAILWAYS" sunshine lettering, and ran as 2473 until being finally renumbered as 32473 in April 1951. Arriving on the Bluebell straight out of BR service in 1962, it was quickly repainted into the Marsh umber, and ran until 1971, by which time its boiler was in need of major repairs. Birch Grove returned to steam in 1997 a year before its centenary in 1998.

Around on April 23, 2000, the ownership of the locomotive was transferred to the Bullied Preservation Society for its future care. As in the original film, The Railway Children a wide range of rolling stock was used. The locomotives seen are NBR C Class No. 673 'Maude', LSWR B4 class No. 96 'Normandy ', LB&SCR E4 class No. 473 'Birch Grove', and SECR C Class No. 592 (as the Green Dragon). No. 592 and Maude were painted in fictional liveries for the filming, with No. 592 wearing typical SECR lined green but with GNSR lettering, symbolising the fictional Great Northern and Southern Railway, and Maude in plain black with GNSR lettering. Birch Grove was seen sporting its original LB&SCR lined brown, and Normandy was painted in Southern Railway unlined black. Maude is based on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway near Edinburgh whilst the other locomotives remain on the Bluebell Railway.