42968, LMS Stanier Mogul
Built at Crewe Works in January 1934, 42968 is the sole surviving LMS Stanier Mogul of the forty built, and the only one of the class to escape the cutter. It entered traffic as LMS 13268, became 2968 in 1935 and 42968 under British Railways, and was withdrawn from Springs Branch shed at the very end of 1966.
Sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry, it was bought for preservation by the Stanier Mogul Fund in September 1973 and moved to the Severn Valley Railway that December. Restoration at Bridgnorth took until 1991. The engine ran on the main line from 1996, including over the Settle and Carlisle line, and passed 100,000 miles in preservation on Boxing Day 2010.
A third overhaul begun in 2014 returned it to steam in 2023. In the spring of 2024 it was repainted into LMS lined black as 13268, the number it carried when new, for the first time in ninety years. It remains owned by the Stanier Mogul Fund and based at the Severn Valley Railway.
Numbers carried
13268as built, entered traffic 24 January 19342968renumbered September 193542968renumbered December 1948Restored to traffic in 1991 as 2968, renumbered 42968 for the 2003 to 2013 running period, briefly 2968 again on recommissioning in October 2023, and repainted as 13268 in the spring of 2024.
Notable history
Built at Crewe Works and entered traffic on 24 January 1934 as LMS 13268, allocated new to Willesden. It was renumbered 2968 in September 1935, and 42968 in December 1948. Later allocations were to North Western sheds including Aston, Bescot and Nuneaton, and its final shed was Springs Branch, Wigan. It was withdrawn on 31 December 1966.
Sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry, it was by then the last of its class in existence, all thirty-nine sisters having already been scrapped. The Stanier Mogul Fund was formed in 1970 for the express purpose of saving it, and bought the engine on 1 September 1973 for £3,575 including VAT. It arrived at Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway on 14 December 1973.
Restoration began at Bridgnorth in July 1974. The engine was first steamed on 11 October 1988, moved under its own power on 12 November 1990, and entered SVR service as LMS 2968 on 13 April 1991. It gained main-line certification in 1996 and worked railtours including over the Settle and Carlisle line and the 1998 Steam on the Met events, before boiler trouble took it out of traffic in October 1998.
A second overhaul returned it to service in 2003, now as BR 42968, the identity it kept for the rest of that ticket. Main-line work was given up around 2005 in the face of certification requirements. The engine passed 100,000 miles in preservation on Boxing Day 2010, and its boiler certificate expired in January 2013.
A third overhaul began in early 2014, the boiler being lifted that July. The locomotive passed its hydraulic test in March 2023 and its steam test on 19 June 2023, and was recommissioned as LMS 2968 in October 2023. In the spring of 2024 it was repainted into LMS lined black as 13268, the first time it had carried its original number in ninety years, and it made its debut in that livery at the SVR Spring Steam Gala. It appeared at The Greatest Gathering at Derby from 1 to 3 August 2025, its first venture off the Severn Valley Railway since 1998.
Additional notes
In August 2026 a partnership with Vintage Trains of Tyseley was announced to return the locomotive to main-line running, with TPWS, OTMR, GSM-R and a speedometer to be fitted. A provisional debut on the Worcester Shakespeare Express was announced for 8 November 2026, subject to certification and the usual operational approvals. The locomotive remains based at the Severn Valley Railway. Location, livery and status last confirmed 2026-09-21.
