RAVENGLASS BRINGS ‘PACIFIC’ OUT OF AN 80-YEAR SLUMBER

The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway is spending £250,000 to restore a 1929 German 4-6-2 that has seen little use for over 80 years and, after a straightforward overhaul, could be running by 2018. It was built by Krauss to the design of Roland Martens, a contemporary of Henry Greenly, the engineer who designed the RHDR and its equipment. Fifteen engines were built for parks and exhibitions from 1925. Three more, built by Krupp in 1937 to a modified design, are preserved; two at Bressingham Steam Centre and one on the RHDR. The Ravenglass example, No. 8457, is one of four built for the Ibero-American Exposition in Seville, Spain. After the 14-month show, the exhibits were steamed occasionally until 1932, when the Spanish Civil War forced them into storage. They were out of view until 1966 when one of them was run in a park in Madrid. No. 8457’s wheelsets were used under a diesel for a time, but in 2001 the engines were moved to Barcelona. Their owners’ ambitions to build a railway for them failed, but restoration was started and one was sold to the Killesbergbahn, Stuttgart, in 2014. No. 8457 is in good condition, consistent with low use and good storage; the boiler only needs minor attention, and a new tender body has been started. The RER society plans to spend a substantial amount of its reserves (No. 8457 cost £144,000, but the overhaul may cost over £100,000), and an extraordinary general meeting was held on December 12 to obtain members’ approval to proceed. There was overwhelming support from the 40% who voted: 644 in favour and five against, with four abstentions. An appeal is to be launched to replenish the society’s funds.