ONE hundred and thirty tonnes of Swindon history has trundled back to the town.

The Evening Star was the last steam engine to be built by British Railways in Swindon 48 years ago.

It made a dramatic return to the town yesterday.

It was built at the Swindon works in March 1960 and its return is the first time it has been seen here for more than 30 years.

“We’ve been planning it for a year now and this is a big deal for Swindon,” said the Steam Museum’s collections officer, Elaine Arthurs.

“So many people from Swindon would have worked on it either at the Swindon Works or on the mainline.

“This has a lot of historical and emotional connections for the town. This is a great celebration.”

The loco’s classification was 2-10-0, meaning it was a tender locomotive with a two-wheeled leading bogey followed by 10 driving wheels.

It was a class 9F, one of the last classes in production in Britain, and was the last of the 251 members of this class to be produced.

The number is on a scale of one to nine – one being the lowest-powered engine and nine being the highest-powered – and the letter F means it was designed for freight rather than passenger services.

Although its number is 92220 it was the only member of the class to receive a name.

Evening Star was chosen following a competition among Western Region staff.

It was given a specially-commissioned livery of passenger green, complete with a copper-capped double chimney. All other members of the class were painted in unlined black.

Gordon Shurmer, 87, from Churchward Avenue in Rodbourne, drove the Evening Star many times in its heyday.

He said: “It could reach speeds of up to 90mph and cost £33,500 to build. It was very powerful. There were 53 built in Swindon and it is one of seven preserved in the country.”

The mammoth job of transporting the locomotive along the 250-mile route from the National Railway Museum in York was the responsibility of West Midlands-based Moveright International.

The firm used an 80ft, 24-wheeled low-loader trailer, pulled by an 18-wheel tractor unit to transport Evening Star, plus a 10-wheeled truck pulling a 64ft, 12-wheel trailer for the loco’s tender.

Along with its escort of two of the firm’s cars, the convoy travelled at about 30mph on level ground.

Andrew Goodman, the managing director of Moveright International, said:“There are only two railways in the world – the GWR and the rest.”

The loco travelled from York along the M1, A34 and M4, before exiting at junction 16.

It was taken along the Great Western Way and arrived at the Steam Museum in Kemble Drive in the afternoon.

The journey took more than nine hours.

The final stage of the operation will see the locomotive loaded on to the former Swindon Railway Works traverser, outside Steam, for manoeuvring into position through large doors on the north-west end of the building.

However, before this, four large exhibits have to be removed to make way, including the King George V and its tender.

This part of the operation is scheduled to take about 16 hours.

Coun Justin Tomlinson, (Con, Abbey Meads), the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, and Recreation, said: “We are thrilled to the Evening Star safely with us at Steam. I’m sure it will be a huge attraction for residents.”

The Evening Star will be the centrepiece of the Swindon Railway Festival at Steam on the weekend of September 13 and 14.

It is due to remain at the museum for the next two years.

For more information visit the website at www.steam-museum.org.uk.