298, LSWR 0298 Class (Beattie)

A preserved LSWR 0298 Class Beattie Well Tank 2-4-0WT, built in 1874 to Joseph Beattie's design — one of the remarkable Beattie well-tank class whose extraordinary longevity placed them among the oldest locomotives in British Railway service at the time of their final withdrawal. Preserved as part of the National Collection.

No. 298 is one of the celebrated trio of Beattie well tanks that worked the Wenford Bridge china-clay branch in Cornwall from the 1870s until 1962 — nearly ninety years of service on a remote branch whose tight curves and restricted bridges could only be navigated by these diminutive engines long after they had been superseded everywhere else on the system. The survival of three examples into 1962 was remarkable: they were already antiques when the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway in 1923. Displayed at the National Railway Museum.

Last recorded at the National Railway Museum, York, owned by the National Railway Museum. Operating status: Static display. Current livery: LSWR plain green.

Location, livery and operating status last confirmed pre-2024 and subject to change. Check with the owning organisation or heritage railway for current information.