OFFICIAL HANDOVER OF LOCOMOTIVE 6695 TO THE SWANAGE RAILWAY ON SUNDAY 5th MARCH 2006
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Article from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 7th March 2006
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright unless otherwise acknowledged. To view a larger version of any photograph on this page, just click on the thumbnail photograph and subsequently use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.

Andrew P.M. Wright has supplied over 70 photos taken on Sunday, 5th March 2006, on the occasion of the official handover of 6695 to the Swanage Railway.

We have split the photos over several pages. Please follow the links at the foot of this page for more photos.

The widow of a dedicated railway stalwart who spent some 20 years restoring a steam locomotive – only to tragically die just weeks before it hauled its first train – has officially handed over the gleaming engine to the Swanage Railway.

A dignified Sylvia Kohring masked her sadness and had a radiant smile as she officially and proudly cut a special ribbon in memory of her late husband Brian on the footplate of Great Western Railway 0-6-2 Tank 6695 at Swanage station on the morning of Sunday, 5th March, 2006.

The historic steam locomotive had been rescued from a Welsh scrapyard in 1979 and has taken dedicated volunteers with the 6695 Locomotive Group some 26 years and £200,000 to restore to full working order.

It was on Saturday, 11th February, 2006, that the 0-6-2 wheel arrangement ‘Taffy Tank’ – built in Newcastle in 1928 – hauled its first passenger train in 43 years.

Tragically, just a few weeks before, one of 6695’s doggedly determined restorers – Brian Kohring from Wimborne in Dorset – died in Poole Hospital. After all the work that he had put into the locomotive, Brian never lived to see his locomotive proudly haul its first passenger train since 1962.

A keen railway enthusiast who was also a meticulous collector of historic tickets, Brian was a founder member of the Wimborne Railway Society and also a founder member of the 6695 Locomotive Group.

Sylvia Kohring cut the special ribbon on 6695’s footplate at Swanage station on the occasion of the 6695 Locomotive Group’s Members Day which saw Group members enjoy five round trips from Swanage to Norden park and ride behind their gleaming 6695.

In memory of Brian Kohring, 6695 Locomotive Group members made up a special white duty disc that simply said ‘B.K. 1928 – 2006’.

Welcoming Sylvia and the 6695 Locomotive Group members to Swanage station – and with a gleaming 6695 simmering in the background – was 6695 Locomotive Group chairman Brian House of Ferndown.

“This is a very special day for the members of the 6695 Group with our locomotive being in steam and hauling passenger trains for the first time in 42 years – and after 26 years of dogged restoration against all the odds,” he said.

“For this, we must thank a number of people and organisations. The Swanage Railway management for giving us the accommodation and facilities of the Herston engineering works over the past 10 years.

“We would also like to thank our sponsors – Superior Seals and Superior Specials of Ferndown – for their generous purchase of raw materials. Then there is the assistance and guidance from the Severn Valley Railway and the South Devon Railway with manufacturing and loaning components.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Willie Bath as well as the staff and the volunteers of Southern Locomotives Ltd for their restoration of our boiler and the final re-build of 6695.

“Our thanks to Pete Pickering for the excellent paint job on the locomotive and for the remedial work carried out on 6695 after she left Herston Works.

“Then there is Andrew P.M. Wright – who you can see darting around taking pictures of this ceremony which is an important and historic milestone – for the time that he spent with us, over the years, photographing and publicising our project both locally and nationally.

“Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to Nick Brown, Swanage Railway General Manager, as well as all the staff of the Swanage Railway’s Operations Department, the Engineering Department and the shed crews for the turning out and running of 6695 over the past weeks – and especially for today.

“Now, I would like to ask Sylvia Kohring to officially cut the special green ribbon across 6695’s footplate to officially hand over the locomotive to the Swanage Railway in memory of her late husband Brian Kohring who spent so many years playing such an important part in 6695’s restoration,” added Mr House.

The crew of 6695 for the special day was driver and Swanage Railway founder-member Nigel Clark of Poole – who has been involved in the 6695 restoration project since the very beginning – while his fireman was Annie Mitchell.

The locomotive is nick-named a ‘Taffy Tank’ because it spent some of its working life in South Wales.

6695 is owned by the volunteer-run 6695 Locomotive Group and the locomotive’s restoration has been a labour of love since it was rescued from the Barry scrapyard in South Wales and brought to the fledgling Swanage Railway in August, 1979. The following photographs taken in the 1980's by 6695's volunteers show the locomotive in stark contrast to its current fine condition.

6695 was built in Newcastle-on-Tyne by Armstrong Whitworth for the Great Western Railway in 1928 and spent its career working in the midlands and south Wales – 6695’s sister engines working trains down to Weymouth.

The tank locomotive ran more than 620,000 miles – the equivalent of 25 times round the world or all the way to the moon and back – for the GWR and BR before being withdrawn for scrap in the summer of 1964.

It had hauled its last freight train earlier that year but 6695 hauled its final passenger train two years earlier in November, 1962 – the year of the Cuban missile crisis that shocked the world – when 6695 ran for the last time between Neath and Treherbert in the Rhonda Valley.

6695 Locomotive Group chairman Brian House added: “Everyone who has worked on the locomotive – and raised or donated money – should be very proud of themselves. But, we still need £20,000 to pay for the restoration and would appreciate any donations towards what is a magnificent steam locomotive.”

To donate money to the 6695 Locomotive Group, or to find out how to become involved with the work of the Group, call Brian House on 01202 873788 or John Webb on 01202 888707.

Please also visit the dedicated 6695 area of the Swanage Railway website for links to many other 6695 related news items and photo reports by clicking here.

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To visit the other pages featuring Andrew P.M. Wright's photos taken on Sunday, 5th March 2006, please follow these links.
- To visit the second page of photos please click here.
- To visit the third page of photos please click here.
- To visit the fourth page of photos please click here.