Sea Lion (locomotive)
Sea Lion
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Sea Lion is a steam locomotive built in 1896 to supply the motive power to the Groudle Glen Railway on the Isle of Man and the locomotive still provides the main traction there today. The locomotive was built by W.G. Bagnall & Co., Stafford and delivered to the line in May of that year, providing sole motive power until joined in 1905 by sister locomotive Polar Bear. When delivered to the railway, the locomotive carried an olive green livery with vermilion and yellow lining and the name carried on the side water tank in gold leaf with blue shadowing, with distinctive round "spectacle" cab windows back and front. These were changed over to rectangular windows very early in the engine's career to improve driver visibility however. One distinctive feature was a displacement lubricator mounted atop the highly polished brass dome. The locomotive was fitted with unusual valve gear patented by E.E. Baguley and is one of only two locomotives to remain in existence with this (the other being Rishra on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway). By the 1920 season the locomotive was deemed too costly for repair and the line purchased two battery electric locomotives that inherited their steam engine names. The modern engines proved to be financially disastrous and within a few years "Sea Lion" had been returned to the works for re-build. It continued to operate the line until closure at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
When the line eventually re-opened in 1950 it was decided to operate with Polar Bear only owing to decrease in demand and the poor condition of Sea Lion which had been stored in the open air for some time. The railway survived until 1962 but by this time Sea Lion was virtually derelict having had many of her brass components removed or stolen. She was saved from scrapping by local preservationist John Walton who transported her to his Steam Centre in Kirk Michael where the engine lay in the car park as an exhibit. When he moved to Loughborough he took the locomotive with him. When the project to restore the railway began, the remains of the locomotive were transported back to the island for restoration and ultimately operation on her original metals and a campaign to have the engine restored was begun. The apprentices of British Nuclear Fuels however stepped in and the engine was taken to Sellafield in 1986 where the restoration was carried out.
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Wikipedia
