A long-running legal dispute over a steam engine that ran on a Hampshire steam railway has been settled out of court.
The owners of the Franklin Roosevelt engine were suiing the Mid Hants Railway that operates the Alresford-based Watercress Line. The action started six years ago.
In a jointly-agreed statement, they announced: “The owners of the S160 Franklin Roosevelt (71340) and the MHR are pleased that they have been able to arrive at a mutually satisfactory settlement to the litigation commenced in 2007.
“The settlement terms provide for agreed payments to be made by the MHR to the claimants without admission of any liability and for the lifting of such bans from the railway as have previously been imposed against some or all of the claimants.
“The S160 locomotive is currently under overhaul at a location away from the railway and a decision on the location of its future operation has yet to be taken.”
The lawyers for the claimants declined to add to the statement. The MHR was asked for comment but had not responded by the time of going to press.
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