DECADES of express steam locomotive development will feature in next month’s West Somerset Railway (WSR) autumn steam gala.

The gala takes place from October 17 to 19 as the national Railway200 celebration of the birth of the modern railway draws toward its close.

It will feature locomotives dating from the 19th and 20th centuries with the oldest being the London and South Western Railway T3 class number 563.

T3s date to the 1880s and were designed by William Adams to work the premier express trains of the LSWR on routes from London Waterloo to Southampton or Exeter.

As the 19th century approached its end, the improving standards of railway carriage comfort meant the weight of the elite express services became too great for the T3s, but they continued to find employment on secondary passenger trains.

No563 was eventually saved for preservation and spent time at the now-closed Clapham Transport Museum and the National Railway Museum, in York, before entering the care of Swanage Railway Trust.

Now restored to working life, T3 4-4-0 No563 will make its first visit to Somerset in nearly a century.

The first ‘Castle’ class engines emerged from Swindon in 1923, and 11 years later ‘Nunney Castle’ was built, numbered 5029.

‘Nunney Castle’ will also feature in the October gala, taking a more leisurely break from its usual work on mainline excursions as part of the fleet of Locomotive Services Ltd.

So far in the Railway200 year, the WSR has hosted steam engines from all of the ‘Big Four’ railway companies, the L&Y, LBSCR, Hudswell Clarke, and Andrew Barclay.

A WSR spokesperson said: “Viewing this pair of guest locomotives at the same event will show how far steam locomotive design progressed in six decades.”

Advance tickets for the gala are available from the WSR website or by calling 01643 704996.