Today marks 53 years since the passing of Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid CBE. He was of course Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway  between 27th May 1937 and 31st December 1947 and then briefly for  the Southern Region of British Railways until 1st October 1949.

On the 10th May 1937 Sir Nigel Gresley advised O.V.S Bulleid, who was working away from Kings Cross, by  telegram stating that “Sir Herbert Walker wishes to see you 12.30 tomorrow” at the meeting Bulleid was asked by Sir Herbert Walker, the SR General Manager, to apply for the position of CME…

This post is not an attempt to outline the whole of Bulleid’s career, but to mark the anniversary of his passing, and also an excuse to show one of my favourite pictures of some of his achievements on Fisherton Sarum.  Also it’s an opportunity to reiterate the fact that order for the first ten express passenger locomotives, that became the first series Merchant Navy’s, was approved by the board in March 1938, and it was a myth of convenience that they were rumoured to be classed as mixed traffic locomotives due to being introduced during the war and having 6’2″ driving wheels (actually the same as the LNER P2 class that Bulleid had previously worked on)!

1st January 1950 Bulleid was awarded CBE in the New Years Honours list. He retired from being Chief Mechanical Engineer CIE in May 1958, firstly living in Devon before moving to Malta in December 1967.