<kuid2:398081:100123:1> King George the 'Bulldog'

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Always a local locomotive, 'Hawarden' is a very powerful but compact 15' four coupled saddle tank designed by W G Bagnall at Stafford specifically for heavy duties at steelworks. It was the second of a pair, numbers 2622 and 2623, built to meet a desperate need of new motive power in the drive to increase steel production for the war effort. Ordered by the Ministry of Supply, both were intended to join similar locomotives at the Butterley Company's works at Ripley in Derbyshire. However, the second one was diverted to the Shelton Iron & Steel Co in Stoke-on-Trent in November 1940 and was named after the works at Shotton that belonged to the Shelton parent company, John Summers & Sons Ltd. It was immediately put to work on some of the most arduous work, hauling molten metal ladles and slag ladles to the tip where the fresh molten slag lit up the night sky for miles around. In 1946 'Hawarden' was in use on a three shift system around the clock. Once the war was over it was returned by rail to Bagnalls for rebuilding under works order 6440 and came back to Shelton on 31 August 1949.

'Hawarden' turned out to be the last new steam locomotive delivered for use at Shelton, and also the last to be used there. Having been relegated to spare engine for a couple of years, 'Hawarden' was last steamed on 18 March 1972 and was replaced by a secondhand Yorkshire diesel. The sister engine to 'Hawarden', number 2622 'Butterley No52' had already been scrapped 10 years earlier. 'Hawarden' was purchased privately for preservation and moved to Foxfield on 30 March 1972. It still bore the scars of its hard life at the steelworks as splashes of solidified metal were still evident around the front end. 'Hawarden' has enjoyed a very active life in preservation and as well as use on the steam passenger service for several years, has travelled far and wide for photographic charters. These have included return visits to Shelton Bar before the rolling mill finally closed. New boiler tubes were fitted in 2005. Other visits included being a surprise guest at the Churnet Valley Railway Gala on 24-5June 2006, being used for driver experiences at Cheddleton and taking a full run over the line. The current boiler certificate for 'Hawarden' is due to expire in summer 2008.