Hello,
I recently happened across a photograph on the Rail Photoprints website which has left me a little curious: https://railphotoprints.uk/p769364556/h2E05C9F5#h2e05c9f5
The photo shows an E Class loco, No. 31159, being used as a stationary boiler. According to the caption, the location is Stewarts Lane shed and the date is August 1959, which I find a little surprising - a few initial searches suggest that No. 31159 was first withdrawn from service in 1951, and I've not come across many examples of engines surviving that long as stationary boilers. I did wonder if the caption was incorrect, but I've been unable to find further information or indeed any other photos.
(On the other hand, it's not without precedent - IIRC, there was a D Class which was used as a stationary boiler at Ramsgate, and survived until the late 1950s or early 1960s?)
I also note from the photo that No. 31159 seems to be in unusually good condition for a stationary boiler, with all the wheelsets and the smokebox number plate intact.
Therefore I would be very interested to hear from anybody who can clear up the mystery/provide more information about No. 31159's use as a stationary boiler - how long did it actually survive there, and where/when was it finally scrapped?