In 1998, after six years working on the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway, 50002 "Superb" left Devon on a five year hire contract that would have seen the locomotive overhauled and returned to service on the mainline network. Sadly this did not come to fruition and in 2005, after protracted legal action, a very forlorn looking locomotive returned to its new home on the South Devon Railway.

Once the locomotive was back in the care of the Society a detailed inspection was undertaken. The findings did not make for very pleasant reading.

A lot of the damage caused to the locomotive was the result of the four exhaust ports being left uncovered which had allowed rainwater to run down in to the exhaust pipework and then into the engine itself.

The decision was made to undertake the restoration of the locomotive in various stages with the external restoration of the locomotive to be tackled first. This would not only make the loco more presentable but ensure that it was watertight and allow the work of internal restoration to commence without risk of further deterioration of the locomotive.

Now that the external restoration is well underway attention needs to turn to the challenge of restoring the engine and electrical systems to working order. In August 2008, after many hours of work, the engine was unseized and barred over for the first time in eight years. This in itself will make the stripping down and overhaul of the engine much easier to undertake.

The aim of the Society is to fully overhaul the power unit and undertake all the necessary work on items including the three generators and other electrical equipment to ensure that D402 has a long and successful future.

The Class 50 Appeal fund has been launched to provide the financial backing required during the restoration of D402. It is estimated that some £25000 is needed for while the Society has both the skills and the enthusiasm to undertake the work it is the lack of funds that is holding back progress on the full restoration of the loco.

You are invited to subscribe to one of the appeal packages which have many benefits associated with them. For details of the packages please click here or visit the Appeal Packages page of this website. If you do not wish to - or cannot afford to make a regular monthly subscription - then single donations are also welcomed and details of whom to post these to can be found on the Appeal Packages page as well.