THE 50th anniversary of the sudden closure of the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company (OIC) system in 1967 was remembered at Rocks by Rail on September 17.
The three former OIC Rolls-Royce Sentinel 0-4-0DH diesels now resident at the Rutland railway were featured.
They took on the identities of former members of the OIC fleet for the gala, with Betty (Rolls-Royce 10201 of 1964) becoming Grace, Jean (Rolls-Royce 10204 of 1965) was Mary, and Graham (Rolls-Royce 10207 of 1965) being renamed Frank.
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OIC locos were named after company officials and relatives, and initially carried by steam locos; the names were transferred to their replacement diesels.
The ‘girls’ were 30-ton, 325hp locos used for quarry shunting, while the ‘boys’ were 38-ton, 325hp locos, which hauled trains to and from the exchange sidings.
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