Southern Railway 777 Sir Lamiel is an N15 "King Arthur" class 4-6-0 steam locomotive built for the Southern Railway by the North British Locomotive Company in June 1925, and withdrawn from service in October 1961. The locomotive is named after a fictional minor Knight of the Round Table named Sir Lamiel of Cardiff. Lamiel is mentioned in Book XIX of Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, where it is said he was "a great lover".[1][2][3] No. 30453 King Arthur was first selected for preservation, but the lack of a Drummond water cart tender led to it being scrapped, and No. 30777 Sir Lamiel was selected for preservation instead.[4][5]
Sir Lamiel is preserved as part of the National Collection,[6] under the care of the 5305 Locomotive Association, and has been based at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough since 1996.[7][8]
Until 2017, the locomotive ran regular passenger services on the preserved section of the Great Central Railway, where it is based. It appeared in the ITV crime drama series Agatha Christie's Poirot (as a Great Western Railway engine) in two episodes of the third series: "The Plymouth Express" and "The Double Clue", both broadcast in 1991. It featured in the 1995 BBC Television play Cruel Train, an adaptation of Émile Zola's novel La Bête Humaine which tells the tale of a murderous engine driver.[9]
Following repair work at Tyseley and Loughborough, Sir Lamiel emerged in October 2012 in Southern Railway malachite green livery as 777 for the first time (having previously carried Southern Railway olive green as 777 and British Railways Brunswick green as 30777 in preservation) and at the 2012 GCR Autumn Steam Gala, it ran and at some stages double headed with fellow Maunsell and malachite engine SR V Schools class 925 Cheltenham.[10] The locomotive continued to operate until 2017 when it was withdrawn from service, requiring another ten-yearly overhaul. Following several years of storage at Loughborough, plans to return the locomotive to service were announced in July 2020 with it scheduled to return to service in 2023.[8][11][12] In February 2022, a delayed return to service was announced with the new target of 2025.[13]
^Malory, Sir Thomas Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XIX: Chapter XI.
^"Steam locomotive, named Sir Lamiel". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
^Hewitt, Sam (23 July 2020). "National collection locomotive No. 777 Sir Lamiel to undergo overhaul". The Railway Hub. Mortons Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
^Bradley, D.L. (1987). LSWR Locomotives: The Urie Classes. Bath: Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISBN 090686755X.
^"Southern Railway Class N15 King Arthur 4-6-0s". glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk. Gloucester Transport Site. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^"30777 Sir Lamiel (SR E777, SR 777 & BR 30777)". Preserved British Steam Locomotives. Word Press. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
^"30777 Sir Lamiel". 5305 Locomotive Association. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ abHolden, Michael (21 July 2020). "Steam locomotive 777 Sir Lamiel set for 5305 Locomotive Association mainline overhaul". RailAdvent.co.uk.
^"30777 "Sir Lamiel"". Locomotives of the Great Central Railway. Great Central Railway. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
^"Autumn Steam Gala 2012 press release" (PDF). gcrailway.co.uk. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^Jones, Robin (August 2020). "Sir Lamiel 'back on the main line in 2023' after overhaul". Heritage Railway. No. 270. p. 42 – via Everand.com.
^"NRM agrees Sir Lamiel overhaul... with 2023 target". The Railway Magazine. No. 1433. August 2020. p. 8 – via PressReader.com.
^Holden, Michael (10 February 2022). "2025 target set for steam locomotive 777 Sir Lamiel". RailAdvent.co.uk.
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