Part of a family of four 4-4-0 locomotives, the first T3 was built by the LSWR in 1892 and by the end of 1893, the twenty-strong fleet had been completed. The elegant appearance of the T3 carried many hallmarks of a locomotive designed by William Adams, with long frames extending beyond the smokebox and stovepipe chimneys. Intended for use on the undulating lines west of Salisbury, they worked from depots on the Bournemouth line as well as the West of England line. Whilst in service several changes and modifications were made to the locomotives including the replacement of the original equalising beam suspension with traditional springing. In addition, once Dugald Drummond took post as the LSWR's Chief Mechanical Engineer he began to change the stovepipe chimney to one of his own design whilst some examples also received Drummond boilers.
All twenty locomotives were inherited by the Southern Railway (SR) at Grouping in 1923, however with the SR being an early adopter of electrification there soon became a locomotive surplus and within ten years, all but three T3s had been withdrawn. The final three were withdrawn in 1936, 1942 and 1945 - the last being No. 563 which was then stored before appearing at the centenary of Waterloo Station in 1948. No. 563 would go on to be saved as part of the national collection, appearing at the Museum of British Transport at Clapham and then the National Railway Museum (NRM) at York.
In 2017, having been loaned for use in theatre productions of The Railway Children in both Canada and London, the NRM transferred ownership of No. 563 to the Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group, a move that drew much attention at the time but one that ultimately resulted in the locomotive being restored to full working order. No. 563 returned to steam in October 2023 at the Swanage Railway where it can be found running today.
The EFE Rail model has been developed with the help of the South Western Circle - the historical society for the London South Western Railway - who have provided archive drawings and photographs, and the Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group who have provided access to the preserved locomotive throughout its restoration.
