When I wrote the article about The Station in Ottery and its connection with an alleged murder in London, the response was outside my expectations while generating many suggestions for future articles.

A few weeks ago  a friend of mine, who had read the article, saw a picture of a locomotive in Budleigh named Ottery St Mary (plate number 1) and sent it to me with a message saying, "I thought it might yield a story with some research." I mentioned it to Dave Stevens, who immediately worked his research magic with unexpected results.

To start with, David faced a challenge while investigating the Ottery St Mary locomotive 34045. The locomotive has been confused with the restored steam locomotive Taw Valley number 34027, a West Country class engine similar to Ottery St Mary. Consequently, many photos of 34027 exist, bearing the 34045 name plates, and are incorrectly identified as Ottery St Mary. Locos initially built for use in the Eastern Section were given Battle of Britain names, while locos initially built for use in the West of England were given West Country names. Although separately called West Country and Battle of Britain Classes, there were no design differences, the locomotives being identical, apart from their names.

David also expressed disappointment that certain places like the Half Moon no longer exist. He recalled that Peter Hutchings, who resided at the railway crossing in Gosford, used to frequent the pub. The last landlord, who took over from Sally and Gordon White, was also an ex-railway man. They would share stories of events on the local railways, which likely had overcome some of the challenges of David's investigation.

Ottery St Mary, with plate number 1, was built at Brighton Works in 1946 and started operating in October. According to available records, when British Railways was formed in 1948, the locomotive was renamed 34045 and was stationed at Exmouth Junction Shed. It was temporarily relocated to Salisbury shed in 1951 before moving again to Brighton shed. There, it worked on transporting trains in the southeast region, specifically in London Victoria. In 1958, Ottery St Mary was sent to Eastleigh Works to undergo the Bulleid Rebuilding program, and in October 1958, it emerged as a completely rebuilt engine and was transferred to Top Shed, Nine Elms. This would be its second to last station, as it was shifted to Bournemouth shed in March 1959 and remained there until its retirement in 1964, which was relatively early for a rebuilt Bulleid Pacific.

Following its retirement, 34045 was sent to the infamous Barry Scrapyard in October 1964 and stayed there for 24 years before being acquired by The Bathcombe Railway in 1988. However, restoration works only began six years later and took eight years to complete. It started operating again in 2002 and was used in the mainline and preserved railways for ten years. When its licence expired in 2012, it became the test product for the Mainline Bulleid Trust and was moved to Eastleigh for overhaul. In August 2014, it was moved again and is currently undergoing mainline trials. Known as 'Otter' to its crews, 34045 is now available for hire for mainline and light railway operations.

The Mainline Bulleid Trust was officially formed on January 1st, 2014. Its main objective is to preserve O.V.S. Bulleid's masterpieces on the mainline. The trust owns three Bulleid Light Pacifics, two Rebuilt variants, and one in its original "spam can" condition. The success of Ottery St Mary led to the formation of the trust.

I'd like to know if we'll ever share stories of local railway events at our pubs. I can't detach myself from feeling nostalgic and longing for a time that's gone and won't return to our town. Railway transport inspired many novels, adventures, romances, and childhood memories preserved by enthusiasts who still let us ride on our beloved 'Otter'.