Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email enquiries@spavalleyrailway.co.uk

Photo © V. Skinner

RSH Ugly Class No. 62 'Ugly'

Works No. 7673
RSH 'Ugly' 0-6-0ST Built 1950,
Robert Stephenson & Hawthorne, England
Wheel Diameter - 4ft 0in
Cylinders - 18in x 26in
Inside Stephenson valve gear
Tractive Effort - 26,850lbs at 75% boiler pressure
Weight in working order - 53 tons
Boiler Pressure - 180 PSI

Built for steel firm Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd, Corby, Northamptonshire. The ‘Uglies’ were built to work heavy iron ore trains to the national network. These powerful engines were built to the pit’s requirements based around the aging, but successful Manning Wardle locomotives in use at Corby at the time. Known as ‘Uglies’ because of their short saddle tanks and larger, raised firebox, they are more powerful than the W.D. ‘Austerity’ saddle tanks. They were so successful that the original class of 7 was eventually increased to 9. 

No. 62 was initially preserved at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway where it ran alongside two other members of the class (57 and 63). No. 62 was preserved at Keighley at the same time as No. 57. During its time at Keighley, the engine saw a lot of work hauling a number of passenger trains. It also received a large amount of work to its chassis and frames. In 1982 the locomotive, whilst on display awaiting boiler repairs, was sold to an East Lancashire Railway member and it went on to see service on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The engine was then purchased for its first stint in the South East, at the nearby Lavender Line at Isfield where it ran for many years.

In the 1992 the engine left for a new life in Cornwall at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, where it hauled trains before receiving a heavy overhaul. It returned to service in 1996 and it was during this time that Ugly's had its one and only claim to fame. On 8th June 2000, it hauled a special train carrying HM Queen Elizabeth over the length of the line. Apparently The Queen was heard to comment about Ugly's unfortunate name!!!

Shortly after, 'Ugly' became surplus to Bodmin's needs and the engine was offered for sale again, this time moving to the Vale of Glamorgan Railway at Barry. Here it sat out of service awaiting major repairs to its boiler which were never started. 

In late 2007, the opportunity arose for a member of the Spa Valley to purchase 'Ugly' which was successful and resulted in the engine heading for its second spell in the South East air in January 2008. Here it will undergo a boiler swap, receiving No. 57's overhauled boiler and remedial work, before a return to traffic, which shouldn't be too long and so become an important member of the Spa Valley locomotive fleet. 

'Ugly' becomes the second member of the class to be based at the Spa Valley Railway, alongside sister engine 'Samson'. 

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Last Updated 25 March 2008. ©M. Dives