Gazelle is a Well Tank locomotive, built by Alfred, Dodman & Co of King's Lynn in 1893. She holds the title of the only locomotive constructed in the county of Norfolk (for the princely sum of £250!), and possibly the smallest standard gauge engine ever built (claimed, doubtful, but I wanna give it to her cos her vibes are immaculate.) She was owned first by William Burkitt, a corn & seed merchant, who, by virtue of running rights, took her out on regular trips along the Midland & Great Northern Railway, and the Great Eastern Railway. She was once run all the way from King's Lynn to Chesterfield (poor thing) going via Lincoln (wayy up Lincolnshire!) and taking up the mainline for upwards of five hours.
In 1910 she was sold to T.W. Ward (A scrap dealer but apparently also involved in the general trade of locomotives), who passed her on to the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway. They rebuilt her (or, had her rebuilt, by Bagnall's of Stafford) in 1911, whence she reappeared as an 0-4-2 - curiously, the centre wheel-arch was left in situ, although the original driving wheels were discarded. This leaves her with non-matching centre wheels, the others are the original Mansells. A 'cab' was added in this rebuild.
She worked on the SMR's passenger services for some time - six passengers could be accommodated in a second enclosed space, added later, which was essentially in her bunker. Passengers tended to complain of the smoke and soot from the chimney, so a single coach was provided - A wooden bodied vehicle on four wheels. This was rebodyed on the same underframe at one point, or else a whole new coach was built to replace the first - sources differ.
In WW2 the SMR was taken over by the War Department, (it served several armaments factories) and in this course of ownership Gazelle was used on line examination trips, inspecting for signs of sabotage, and 'at times' used to convey ammunition. In 1945 she was left at Kinnerley, by the pond and on a siding open to the elements. She had lost her chimney cap at one point, and a crude replacement was fitted. She was also slightly injured by a collision with a W.D. Dean Goods, several of which were provided for the line by the W.D.. In 1950, the line was ceeded into BR Western Region stock - the surviving SMR engines, three ex-LNW Coal Tanks and one Gazelle - were promptly withdrawn. The 0-6-2Ts were cut up at once; however Gazelle was preserved - first at Longmoor and later on various sites under care of the Science Museum and later the NRM. She eventually wound up in Tenterden, and resides in the Col. Stephens museum, on public display, in an enclosed space out of the weather.
