Photos: Robert Frise - BR Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-2T No. 41298 outside Upyard Shed

41298 is an example of the side tank version of the Ivatt 2-6-0 tender locomotives, another of the type, 41313, is also based at Quainton. The LMS began construction of the class in 1946 with No. 1200 and completed ten locos before nationalisation, the remaining 120 being built by BR.

Intended for light duties, this design incorporated all the labor-saving features usually found on larger engines at that time, including self-emptying ashpans and rocking grates. The side tanks have a capacity of 1,350 gallons, and the bunker, which is sloped inwards to give a clear view to the rear, has a ladder giving access to the coal space, a feature directly influenced by American practice.

41298 was built in 1951 at Crewe, to lot No. 225. Its first allocation was to Bricklayer's Arms shed on the Southern Region in November of that year, and it was mainly used on empty stock, into and out of Victoria with occasional trips on excursion trains to Allhallows. In 1953 a transfer to the West Country brought work on the branch lines around Barnstaple until 1963, when 41298 moved to Weymouth for boat-train and local passenger turns. A final move, back to London, took place in October 1966, this time to Nine Elms (Waterloo) where the last few months in BR ownership were spent on empty stock workings as station pilot.

When steam working finished on the Southern Region in July 1967, 41298 was purchased directly from BR by the Ivatt Trust, and was still serviceable. Its first home in preservation was the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire, but when Longmoor closed the locomotive was moved to Quainton. It arrived on 12 December 1970, and started a heavy overhaul.

The Ivatt Trust came to a long-term agreement with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, that will see 41298 and her sister locomoive 41313 restored for use on the Isle of Wight. Some forty years after an initial plan to introduce BR Standard Class 2MT locomotives to the island, a similar class of locomotive will hopefully shortly be making their mark on the island, the target for operation being the IOWSR's Autumn Steam Gala in October 2013.