British Railways 2-10-0 No. 92203 'Black Prince'
Bressingham, Norfolk, UK 		Location: Bressingham Steam Museum
Status: Display
Posted: Nov 30, 2025 @ 18:11:16 by Russell Newman
The is a re-write to the first part of the history of BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", which is a most famous 9F in preservation. Built at Swindon in April 1959, No. 92203 was one of the class members built with a double chimney. No. 92203 was allocated new to St Phillips Marsh depot in Bristol from April 1959 and had shed allocations at Old Oak Common in London from September 1960, Banbury from May 1963 and finally Birkenhead Shed from September 1966. Birkenhead was the last stronghold for the BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 locomotives in greater number in the final years of steam. Prior to being withdrawn from service by British Rail in 1967 No. 92203 was one of the last two steam locomotives to be overhauled at Crewe Works where it left in January 1967 a month before BR Standard 7MT Pacific No. 70013 "Oliver Cromwell" was outshopped as the last overhauled steam locomotive at Crewe. No. 92203 had retained its BR1G Type tender it had been built with for all its working life and was withdrawn from service in November 1967 whilst based at Birkenhead it had been employed on hauling the heavy iron ore trains from Bidston docks to Summers Steel Works at Shotton in its final years of service with BR. It had the honour of hauling the very last steam-hauled iron ore train from Bidston docks to Shotton on 6th November 1967, being driven by Richard Summers himself at the regulartor who was head of Summers Steel Works at the time. For that last run No. 92203 had been especially cleaned up by volunteer cleaners for the occasion. After being withdrawn from service from British Railways No. 92203 was bought strate out of service for preservation by the famous railway and wildlife artist David Shepherd for £3,000. Following purchased by David Shepherd No. 92203 was moved under its own steam from Crewe to its new home at the Longmoor Military Railway at Longmoor Camp in Hampshire in early 1968. The Longmoor Military Railway was set up in 1903 by the Royal Engineers to train the military in railway operations and ran between Bordan and Liss where it joined the mainline network. It was an ideal home for some preserved steam locomotives at the time in the late 1960s and early 1970s which No. 92203 was joined by David’s other steam locomotive he had BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75029 "The Green Knight", and was also the home of the Bulleid Society who owns the ex-Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Pacific No. 21C123 "Blackmore Vale" and for the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society, owners of No. 35028 “Clan Line”, which David Shepherd was president of those two societies, along with a few other preserved steam locomotives that were kept there at the time. It was while at Longmoor that No. 92203 was named "Black Price" with nameplates fitted done in the same Great Western style like those fitted to No. 92220 "Evening Star". In its last years before it closed the Longmoor Military Railway was used as a film location for the railway scenes in films such as "The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", No. 92203 was even a film star at Longmoor when it stared in the film "Young Winston" when it was dressed up to look like a South African steam locomotive for the film.
Posted: Jul 21, 2025 @ 06:07:37 by Russell Newman
This is the second part of the history of BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", which is a most famous 9F in preservation. The Longmoor Military Railway closed in 1969, and No. 92203 was then moved to Liss for a proposed Longmoor Steam Railway project that sadly never happened. In 1971 No. 92203 was moved to Eastleigh Diesel Depot where it remained until 1973. Whilst there it hauled some mainline trains with one trip from Oxford to Hereford and Worcester in May 1973 and another mainline railtour for an open day at Eastleigh. By November 1973 No. 92203 had a new base at the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore, a preserved railway which was set up by David Shepherd as he was one of the founders of. In September 1982 No. 92203 set a British steam heavy haulage record when it hauled the heaviest freight train in Britain when it pulled a stone train of 2,198 tonnes at Foster Yeoman’s Merehead Quarry in Somerset during an open day there. Over the years No. 92203 has spent much of its time visiting other preserved railways around the UK visiting lines like the Mid Hants Railway (the Watercress Line), the Great Central Railway and Peak Rail before it went on long term loan to the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway in the late 1990s which was a bit of a home coming for the locomotive as the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway is the former mainline that ran via Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway through the Cotswolds to the West Midlands. The route which No. 92203 and her sister 9F’s worked along in the steam era hauling freight trains from Bristol and Old Oak Common in West London and Banbury via Cheltenham and the Cotswolds to Birmingham and the West Midlands and back. No. 92203 remained at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway until 2010 when it moved to the North Norfolk Railway which was meant to be an extended loan to them but turned out this would be the locomotive’s new permanent home as it was sold by David Shepherd to the North Norfolk Railway to be their flagship locomotive in their fleet. No. 92203 continued running at the North Norfolk Railway until the end of 2023 following the discovery of a leak in an internal steam pipe. It was then expected that the locomotive would be stored prior to being overhauled. In April 2024 No. 92203 was transported to Bressingham Steam Museum for undercover storage and display two years whilst it awaits its next overhaul, which hopefully will not be for long.
Posted: Jul 21, 2025 @ 06:07:40 by Russell Newman
This is the first part of the history of BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", which is a most famous 9F in preservation. Built at Swindon in April 1959, No. 92203 was one of the class members built with a double chimney. No. 92203 was allocated new to St Phillips Marsh depot in Bristol from April 1959 and had shed allocations at Old Oak Common in London from September 1960, Banbury from May 1963 and finally Birkenhead Shed from September 1966. Birkenhead was the last stronghold for the BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 in greater number in the final years of steam. Prior to being withdrawn from service by British Rail in 1967 No. 92203 was one of the last two steam locomotives to be overhauled at Crewe Works where it left in January 1967 a month before BR Standard 7MT Pacific No. 70013 "Oliver Cromwell" was outshopped as the last overhauled steam locomotive at Crewe. No. 92203 had retained its BR1G Type tender it had been built with for all its working life and was withdrawn from service in November 1967 whilst based at Birkenhead where it had been employed on hauling the heavy iron ore trains from Liverpool docks to Shotton Steel Works in its final years of service with BR. It had the honour of hauling the very last steam-hauled iron ore train from Bidston docks to Shotton on 6th November 1967, being driven by Roger Shotton himself. For that last run No. 92203 had been especially cleaned up by volunteer cleaners for the occasion. After being withdrawn from service from British Railways No. 92203 was bought strate out of service for preservation by the famous railway and wildlife artist David Shepherd for £3,000. Following being purchased by David Shepherd No. 92203 was moved under its own steam from Crewe to its new home at the Longmoor Military Railway at Longmoor Camp in Hampshire in early 1968. The Longmoor Military Railway was set up in 1903 by the Royal Engineers to train the military in railway operations and ran between Bordan and Liss where it joined the mainline network. It was an ideal home for some preserved steam locomotives at the time in the late 1960s and early 1970s which No. 92203 was joined by David’s other steam locomotive he had BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75029 "The Green Knight", and was also the home of the Bulleid Society who owns the ex-Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Pacific No. 21C123 "Blackmore Vale" and for the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society, owners of No. 35028 “Clan Line”, which David Shepherd was president of those two societies, along with a few other preserved steam locomotives that were kept there at the time. It was while at Longmoor that No. 92203 was named "Black Price" with nameplates fitted done in the same Great Western style like those fitted to No. 92220 "Evening Star". In its last years before it closed the Longmoor Military Railway was used as a film location for the railway scenes in "The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", No. 92203 was even a film star at Longmoor when it stared in the film "Young Winston" when it was dressed up to look like a South African steam locomotive for the film.
Posted: Apr 29, 2024 @ 13:04:40 by Russell Newman
BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", has now arrived at Bressingham Steam Museum near Diss in Norfolk, for display undercover for two years. No. 92203 will make her debut on display during Bressingham Steam Museum’s Heritage Steam Gala over the May Bank holiday weekend from the 4th to 6th of May 2024.
Posted: Apr 28, 2024 @ 07:04:34 by Russell Newman
Its been announced, that BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", will be going on loan to nearby Bressingham Steam Museum for undercover display in their standard gauge exhibition hall. No. 92203 will spend the next two years at Bressingham until workshop space at the North Norfolk Railway and funding towards it are available for her overhaul.
Posted: Feb 3, 2024 @ 09:02:22 by Russell Newman
BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince", has now been withdrawn from service for its 10 year overhaul.
Posted: Apr 15, 2022 @ 07:04:15 by Russell Newman
BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince" will make her first visit away from the North Norfolk Railway for the first time in a number of years this year as the locomotive will visit the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway as their fourth and final visiting locomotive for their Cotswold Festival of Steam Somerset & Dorset Remembered themed Gala from the 3rd to 5th of June 2022.
Posted: Aug 29, 2019 @ 09:08:51 by Russell Newman
After months of hard work the firebox repairs on No. 92203 "Black Prince" have been completed and the locomotive will enter traffic at the North Norfolk Railway during their Autumn Steam Gala this weekend on the 31st of August and 1st of September 2019.
Posted: Mar 19, 2019 @ 10:03:55 by Russell Newman
BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 "Black Prince" has been temporarily withdrawn from service for firebox repairs which will take some time to do.
Posted: Oct 7, 2015 @ 13:10:48 by Russell Newman
As of now 92203 "Black Prince" has been sold to the North Norfolk Railway where it will be staying for good.
Posted: Oct 20, 2011 @ 05:10:19 by Phil Horton
Class 9F 2-10-0 no. 92203, then unamed, was purchased from British Railways by the wildlife artist David Shepherd in 1967. The engine was originaaly kept at the former Longmore Military Railway in Hampshire until evicted by local residents. David Shepherd then purchased the old station yard at Cranmore, on the former Cheddar Valley line in Somerset. There he built a new engine shed for no. 92203 and his other loco Class 4 4-6-0 no. 75079. The line from Cranmore now operates as the East Somerset Railway but both locos have since moved elsewhere. Both are now located on the North York Moors Railway at Grosmont where their power can be put to greater use.
Posted: Nov 14, 2003 @ 10:11:05 by Wesley Paulson
This locomotive was operated on the Llangollen Railway in Wales in the late 1990s.