IT has been described as the most unusual war memorial in Britain, yet for the thousands of visitors who travel the Severn Valley Railway every year, it's probably no more than the lovely old locomotive that pulls their train.

Now, however, Stanier 8F locomotive No. 48773 is to become famous once more.

Next year the Stanier 8F Locomotive Society intends to dedicate a Book of Remembrance to record the names of more than 300 soldiers who are commemorated by the plaques fixed to the Clyde-built loco.

The mobile war memorial - first dedicated by the Dean of Hereford in 1986 - will become a tribute to the men of the military railways units of the Royal Engineers, who gave their lives during the Second World War.

Although 320 names have so far been identified, covering soldiers serving in 20 countries, the search is on to find out if there are any more.

"The railway units of the Royal Engineers have played a vital part in every conflict since the Boer War," explained Colonel David Ronald.

"Logistics dictate that the vast tonnage required to supply a modern army means it has to be moved by rail.

"The railwaymen have been responsible for maintaining these lines of communication, either by adapting and improving existing tracks or building new ones.

"The Army can't move without them and the memorial is recognition of their important role in wartime.

"Sadly many members of railway units were lost when the SS Lancastria was sunk after Dunkirk.

"They had been running the railways in France and were killed when the Cunard steamer was bombed and machine gunned as it tried to reach England.

"We know some of these men, as we know others who were lost in other parts of the world, but before the Book of Remembrance is dedicated in November 2002, we want to acknowledge as many as we can.

"Already we have 320 plus names, mostly through research with the War Graves Commission."

Col Ronald said the Stanier 8F on the Severn Valley Railway was chosen to become the railway units' unique mobile war memorial because of its special history, much of which involved its own wartime service.

Indeed, it has been called "one of the locomotives that won the war".

Under its old LMS number of 8233, the engine emerged from the North British Locomotive Company's Hyde Park Works in Glasgow in August 1940, as part of a War Department order of railway stock for service in France.

The fall of France saw 8233 retained by the LMS for a time, but in 1941 it was requisitioned and despatched to Persia.

Three years were spent on the gruelling Trans-Iranian Railway, delivering war supplies to the Soviet Union by the single railway line from the Persian Gulf.

In 1944, the engine was transferred to Palestine and then the Suez Canal Zone.

There it remained in service until 1952, when it returned to Britain and after an overhaul at Derby, was put to work for five years on the Longmoor Military Railway.

In 1957, 8233 was acquired by British Railways and after an overhaul, returned to service in Glasgow, the city of its birth, carrying the BR number 48773.

It later worked out of several depots in England before being selected in 1968 as the 8F in best all-round condition for preservation.

A desperate rescue effort by the Stanier 8F Locomotive Society Ltd - founded among sixth form students in Manchester - saved the engine from the cutting torch shortly after it had pulled the Locomotive Club of Great Britain Farewell to Steam special on August 4, 1968.

The Severn Valley Railway enthusiasts then stepped in and finally, in January 1969, after some protracted negotiations over movement, the old loco arrived in the sanctuary of the SVR's maintenance sheds at Bridgnorth.

There it was lovingly restored to reappear as LMS No 8233, although the BR number of 48773 was adopted in the early 1990s.

Since being taken on by the SVR, the Stanier 8F has clocked up more than 100,000 miles, which has included spells on loan to the Worth Valley Railway and the West Somerset Railway.

"She is a wonderful old engine, a real Old Soldier herself," added Col Ronald, "and we are so lucky to have her as our memorial."

- If you can help with any information about railway units in the Second World War, please contact Col Ronald at Dorrator, Waterloo Road, Caythorpe, Grantham, Lincs NG32 3DX.