Represented as USA Class 62 0-6-0 30075 USA Tank Lookalike

Loco Information

30075 moved to the Mid-Hants on 17th August 2009 from the East Somerset Railway. Formerly 62-669, 30075 is a Yugoslavian built Class 62 USA type 0-6-0 tank steam locomotive, built in 1960 and acquired from Store Steel in Slovenia in 1990, which has been operational since June 2004 following heavy overhaul. 30075 joins sister engine 62-521, renumbered 30076, at the MHR. 30076 was built in 1954 and was acquired from Arcelor Mittal Zenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina in December 2006. This is likely to be the first time two such locomotives have been based at the same railway in preservation, outside of the former Yugoslavia.

The Class 62 "Yankee Tank" steam locomotives are similar to the World War II USATC S100 Class 0-6-0T Switcher/Shunters designed by Colonel Howard G Hill. This type of engine was used by the Southern Railway, mainly for shunting, in Southampton Docks between the end of World War II and the demise of steam in the 1960's. They were purchased by the Southern Railway from the United States Army Transportation Corps in 1946. 30075 is presented as this class.

Both locomotives differ slightly from the USA build, with plate frames as opposed to cast frames, resulting in a slightly higher boiler height. These can be easily spotted as the domes are flat topped and the steam pipes to the cylinders have elbow joints as opposed to straight.

30075 proved most popular when she visited us as a guest locomotive in March 2006 for our Spring Steam Gala.

This is a particularly appropriate association as USA Class locomotives 30064 and 30072 (both preserved) were based nearby at Guildford in the mid-1960's. 30075 will be put to good use here at the MHR, being used for special events, Introductory Driving & Firing Courses, as well as hire to other heritage railways