Taken on the South Devon Railway near Buckfastleigh, this is GWR Pannier Tank number 6430 approaching to be hooked up to a departing train.

For most of her operational life, 6430 operated in the South Wales Valleys, running branch line passenger services in the Usk, Taff, and Ogmore valleys throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It is very likely that as I have cycled up and down the Ogmore valley in the past, I have followed the exact route along which this engine pulled passenger services, some 60 years ago. In 1964, she was sold by British Railways for scrap, but was then sold to the Dart Valley Railway for spare parts. Having gotten what they could, it was sold again in 1989, after which a gradual process of renovation took place. After 14 years of work at a cost of £200,000, 6430 moved under her own steam once again in December 2004, and began running passenger services again on the Llangollen heritage railway the very next year.

The engine is currently on loan to the South Devon Railway until its boiler certificate expires in February 2025.

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