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Sidmouth was built by the Southern Railway at Brighton Works in September 1945, and originally numbered 21C110. It was allocated to Exmouth Junction shed and used between Exeter and Salisbury and also west of Exeter on the lines to Plymouth, Ilfracombe and Padstow. After nationalisation it was renumbered 34010 and allocated to Nine Elms in June 1951. It was used on the lines from Waterloo to Weymouth and Exeter.
 Leaving Woking for Waterloo around 1962 (c) Author
It was withdrawn in March 1965, about a year before the end of steam on the Southern, and sent to Barry scrap yard. It had covered 922,906 miles in service, about average for its class and age, roughly 900 miles per week.
34010 seems to have had a fairly quiet life; the larger Merchant Navy's were preferred on the named trains and other top services though the photo below shows it hauling the Bournemouth Belle.
On 12 April 1953 it ran from Waterloo to Exeter with an Ian Allan Loco Spotter's special. It once hauled the Shah of Iran's train from Gatwick to Victoria. West Country class locomotives occasionally reached the town of Sidmouth mainly on excursions, but as far as is known 34010 never got there.
There's a run between Winchester and Bournemouth recorded by Alan Taylor in 1960, though it's not a very exciting run.
Four rush hour runs between Woking and Waterloo (two up, two down) were recorded by my school-friend Malcolm Garner in 1964. The third of these is a cracker, with a maximum of 76 mph at Esher.
My thanks to those who have made photos available to me. If you have any photos or recollections of 34010 I'd be delighted to hear from you (see contacts).
Next: After Withdrawal
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 (c) Brian Morrison. Leaving Waterloo in 1952
In February 1959 it was rebuilt into its present form and remained at Nine Elms until September 1964 when it was transferred to Eastleigh. During those years it regularly passed my house in Woking, as seen on the left.
 (c) Mike Morant. 34010 heads the down Bournemouth Belle through Raynes Park
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