NELPG AT 50
John Hunt reveals how the saviours of North Eastern steam have gone from strength to strength
In the North East, there was something particularly special about the final days of steam. Maybe it was the feeling of continuity from the days of the railway pioneers. Or, perhaps, it was because many of the locally surviving steam locomotives had themselves been part of the scene for so long - most of them were more than 50 years old. Sir Vincent Raven’s ‘J27’ 0-6-0s and ‘Q6’ 0-8-0s were the oldest engines still at work on BR, still providing the unglamorous yet essential service for which they had been designed so many years before. Among the enthusiasts who gathered at the lineside in those final months of North East steam operation were some who felt that it was worth trying to save something of this part of our industrial heritage, and they had decided to do something about it. A headline in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle of October 26 1966 lifted the lid. The headline ‘They want to save old railway engines’ heralded the birth of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group. Two days later, the inaugural meeting was held at the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle, appropriately in the shadows of Robert Stephenson’s High Level Bridge over the Tyne. That night, young men of vision assembled in an upstairs room, where a vote was taken on which locomotive should be the target for fundraising. Of the 19 present, 11 opted for a ‘J27’, and five a ‘Q6’ (three were happy with either). The ‘J27’ was therefore selected, largely because it was smaller and therefore cheaper to buy. Fundraising started there and then. After paying for the hire of the room, the fund at the end of the night stood at 5s 6d (27½p). Kevin Hudspith, Peter Proud and Kevin Gould are credited with calling that historic first gathering. What they and those early pioneer preservationists cannot possibly have foreseen were the events and achievements of the ensuing half-century. NELPG members past, present and future, and railway preservation in general, have much to thank them for.
Making the choice
It would be another ten months before steam was finally eliminated in the North East. Fundraising took place against a backdrop of the very engines destined to be saved going about their everyday duties. This had a distinct advantage - enthusiasts coming to witness these last rites contributed to the fund. NELPG had the opportunity to select the finest ‘J27’ and No. 65894, which had spent much of its life at York, was deemed to be the best example. In the anticipation that a ‘Q6’ might also one day be the subject of acquisition, No. 63395 was chosen as the better of the two last survivors. A price of £1,400 (£23,000 in today’s money) had been put on a ‘J27’, but when the end finally came on September 9 1967, the fund stood tantalisingly short at £911. Fortunately, NELPG had forged good relationships with BR managers and it was able to ensure that both Nos. 65894 and 63395 were put in store in the old wagon works at Tyne Dock shed, pending purchase. An intense and ultimately successful push for funds meant the ‘J27’ became NELPG property on December 1 1967. Without hesitation, an appeal was then launched to save the ‘Q6’.
Then came a body blow. A letter was received from a BR manager, stating: “Locomotive No. 63395, together with other locomotives, has been disposed of by competitive tender, and I regret it is no longer available for offer to you.” Because of a steep rise in the global value of copper, the ‘Q6’ had been sold to Hughes Bolckow in Blyth. Quick and decisive action by the secretary and chairman included contacting the scrap firm, and the secretary ended up almost camping on the firm’s doorstep. For some reason, the crew rostered to tow the ‘Q6’ to Blyth didn’t turn up for duty - some say because of their liberal consumption of the amber nectar, but others suggest it was the intervention of friends in higher places in BR. The result was that No. 63395 remained at Tyne Dock. While this initial hurdle had been cleared, there was a BR stipulation to overcome: once locomotives had been sold for scrap, a clause in the contract prevented their resale. NELPG had already benefited with help from Captain Peter Manisty of the ARPS to buy the ‘J27’, and he came to the rescue again. Incredibly, he persuaded BR to relax this clause, which not only opened the door to getting the ‘Q6’ back from Hughes Bolckow but to the preservation world in general, especially in respect of Dai Woodham’s engines at Barry. A price of £2,300 was quoted, and following a frantic fundraising exercise and the generosity of donors, the money was raised in less than five months, a feat probably without parallel at the time. With both locomotives now secure, members had a new problem to solve. What were they going to do with 100 tons of heavy metal? Most NELPG members were teenagers, or in their early 20s, and had little or no engineering experience. And, of course, the NELPG’s coffers were seriously depleted after the two successful purchases. However, the first 18 months of the group’s existence had proved two things: its members had boundless enthusiasm - and a knack for raising cash. Members of the Newcastle University Railway Society were instrumental in forming a sales team that, through the sale of booklets identifying where to find the last steam in the UK and Europe, raised significant funds towards the purchase and restoration. Using proceeds from further appeals, the ‘J27’ and ‘Q6’ were returned to steam at Tyne Dock shed, the National Coal Board works at Philadelphia, Co. Durham (which was still overhauling NCB steam engines), Hartlepool roundhouse (briefly), Thornaby depot and ICI Billingham. NELPG volunteers were quick to acquire skills from BR boilersmiths and machinists, and a host of spares was accumulated from scrapyards, including engine springs and vacuum brake equipment, and five tons of firebricks from North Blyth, thanks to a tip-off from Ian Storey.
Swapping a tender
Items from other withdrawn ‘J27s’ were exchanged at Tyne Dock, with Peter Proud taking a prominent role. A new cab roof from No. 65882 was acquired, boiler cleating from No. 65879 and an ex-NER dome from No. 65811. Perhaps the greatest feat was a secret move of No. 65894 from Tyne Dock, diesel-hauled, to Thompsons scrapyard at Stockton-on-Tees, for its tender to be exchanged with that of No. 65882, which was in better condition. The NELPG never received a bill. The ‘J27’ moved from Tyne Dock, where early restoration work had begun, to NCB Philadelphia for repairs, and November 15 1968 was a red letter day when it was steamed for the first time in preservation. Following further remedial work, it was steamed again for the benefit of NELPG members, on February 15, which coincided with a heavy overnight snowfall, bright sunshine and, sadly, the end of steam working on the NCB’s extensive Lambton system. No. 65894 still required axlebox repairs, which were outside the scope of Philadelphia, but could be carried out at BR’s depot at Thornaby. While it was capable of being steamed for the move, BR’s steam ban would have dictated diesel haulage. But John Bellwood, BR’s North Eastern Region Divisional Traction Engineer, authorised a move in steam. We shall never know if his superiors had a word with him
afterwards. The sound of a ‘J27’ on BR metals was therefore heard again on April 11 1969, when No. 65894 made a very public statement by working through Newcastle Central station in order to turn. It also returned to one of its old stamping grounds, the coastal line through Sunderland and Hartlepool to Thornaby, catching up a Newcastle-York parcels express in the process. As No. 65894 steamed southwards (with John Bellwood in the cab), passengers on station platforms and lineside onlookers watched in astonishment. At Thornaby, our ‘J27’ joined the ‘Q6’ (which had earlier moved from Tyne Dock), via a brief stay at Hartlepool shed. During the four months No. 63395 stayed in the roundhouse, the group’s members worked in poor conditions to prepare it for hydraulic testing and repainting, and on one particular occasion it appeared that the snow was deeper inside the roundhouse than it was outside. Reputedly, staff with a sense of humour put No. 63395 on the roster board one day, then watched as the driver found out that there really was a ‘Q6’ on shed! It was not surprising that, for the second time, the engine’s home was declared unsafe, and on February 17 1969 No. 63395 was moved to BR’s Thornaby roundhouse. By this time, NELPG had established a good relationship with the fledgling North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which needed larger and stronger locomotives. So it came to pass that, following the completion of its overhaul, No. 63395 moved in steam from Thornaby to Grosmont on June 20
For some reason, the crew rostered to tow the ‘Q6’ to Blyth didn’t turn up for duty
1970, along with Kitson 0-6-2T No. 29 from Philadelphia, which was purchased along with fellow Lambton tank No. 5 by a consortium of NELPG and NYMR members. After axlebox repairs at Thornaby, the ‘J27’ went to ICI Billingham for completion of its overhaul and painting into NER livery as ‘P3’ No. 2392. After completion in October 1971 it too moved to the NYMR. NELPG’s success led to the owners of Peppercorn ‘K1’ 2-6-0 No. 62005 donating it in 1972. Originally purchased to provide a replacement boiler for Gresley ‘K4’ 2-6-0 No. 3442 The Great Marquess, this proved unnecessary, leaving the way clear to a full overhaul and return to steam. Once again, using the facilities at BR’s Thornaby depot, the engine was towed by a diesel from Neville Hill and placed in the roundhouse. This move could have been another heavy unwanted cost to NELPG, but John Bellwood had other ideas. In conjunction with the Thornaby shedmaster, he organised for an open day to be staged to coincide with the ‘K1’ move, and for the engine to demonstrate the wheel drop facility. Thus, the transfer move from Leeds, on June 14 1972, was entirely free. In May 1974, and after just two years of volunteer effort, the ‘K1’ was outshopped in LNER green as No. 2005 (at the previous owners’ behest), and then it moved to the NYMR as well. A year later, NELPG became heavily involved in planning the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway at Shildon, to be held in August 1975. The event also acted as a catalyst for the overhaul of the LMS ‘Black Five’ No. 4767, with its unique Stephenson valve gear. Owned by Brian Hollingsworth, it was moved from Carnforth to Thornaby for overhaul by NELPG volunteers, and acquired by Chairman Ian Storey. Completed in time for the ‘S&D 150’ opening, it was formally named ‘George Stephenson’ by the Rt Hon. William Whitelaw at the August 25 opening ceremony. Appropriately, Nos. 4767, 2238, 2392 (63395) and 2005 took their places as exhibits 3, 4, 5 and 6 behind Locomotion leading the cavalcade, followed by NCB ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 2592/7. Crowds were swelled by 20 charter trains from the
south, the first of them arriving at 7.15am. Neither BR nor the police were prepared for the volumes of people wanting to see the spectacle of the Grand Cavalcade, or witness NELPG’s four engines steaming from Shildon to Darlington; 18,000 people paid to join the specially erected grandstands overlooking the line, but 300,000 others positioned themselves at every vantage point along the route and watched it for free. A direct spin-off from ‘S&D 150’ was the first chance to run both the ‘K1’ and ‘Black Five’ on the main line, initially on the Esk Valley line from Battersby to Whitby with No. 2005. Both engines soon went further afield, including some memorable trips down the Durham coast, and over the Settle & Carlisle line. The ‘K1’ had been the most used locomotive on the highly successful Fort William-Mallaig operation and, appropriately, No. 62005’s boiler came from classmate No. 62011, which went to the West Highland when new. Its first season was 1987, and it has been back in 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994 - the West Highland centenary year - 2001-10 and 2012-16, a total of 20 seasons. In 1999 and 2000, it also participated in London Underground’s ‘Steam on the Met’ event. In 41 years on the main line, No. 62005 has made over 1,000 trips and amassed more than 113,000 miles in the process.
Two more in the team
Success breeds success, and the NELPG was destined to acquire two more locomotives. The first of these was the NER ‘Q7’ 0-8-0 No. 901 (63460), loaned from the National Collection in 1978. Going the other way, the ‘J27’ went on display in the main hall at the National Railway Museum in York to represent freight 0-6-0s. After a protracted overhaul, undertaken when time allowed, the first steaming of the ‘Q7’ was on July 18 1990. It entered traffic on August 20 that year, and was then in regular use on the NYMR until 1998 when its ten-year boiler certificate expired, having covered 23,428 miles. Of interest to today’s restorers is that the engine ran using the BR Darlington North Road super-heater elements. No boiler work was required, and the tubes fitted by NELPG volunteers are still in the locomotive to this very day. There was no new agreement with the NRM and the ‘Q7’ is now on display at the Head of Steam railway museum in Darlington. The second locomotive was ‘J72’ 0-6-0T No. 69023 ‘Joem’. The opportunity to acquire the diminutive tank, star of The Railway Children, arose in 1982 at a price of £10,250. With the offer of a £5,250 grant from the Science Museum, 75 members at an NELPG extraordinary general meeting heard that ‘Joem’ could be secured for just £5,000. Attendees were unanimous in their vote to acquire it. An appeal fund soon raised the money, and NELPG took ownership on November 20 1982. ‘Joem’ was moved by road from York to the NYMR in January 1983 and, after repairs and restoration, No. 69023 was steamed within four months. It was used on gala days, but it proved its worth on September 23 1984, when a lack of any other working engines left ‘Joem’ to successfully work two round trips from Grosmont to Pickering. With a growing fleet and the need for adequate facilities in which to maintain and overhaul its locomotives, NELPG had, in its early days, relied on Tyne Dock, Philadelphia, and Thornaby. However, in 1979, it built its own shed at Deviation, Grosmont, using a second-hand building from Longmoor in Hampshire. A Teesside base was desirable too, so the connection between NELPG and petro-chemicals giant ICI Wilton, first established in 1985, proved fundamental to the group’s subsequent success. Thanks to its 15-year partnership, the NELPG had access to a large, free workshop facility and a rail connection, paid staff salaries, free materials, craneage and, crucially, access to sponsored government employment and training schemes. In hindsight, this probably amounted to an estimated £1.2 million investment in NELPG. Nos. 62005 and 69023 both benefitted from this arrangement.
Handling two ‘Pacifics’
An important chapter in NELPG involves two LNER ‘Pacifics’, ‘A4’ No. 60019 Bittern and ‘A2’ No. 60532 Blue Peter. In a groundbreaking deal, signed on October 24 1986, the group took the locomotives on long-term loan from owner Geoff Drury. With two other ‘A4s’ in working order, the decision
Captain Peter Manisty of the ARPS opened the door to getting the ‘Q6’ back from Hughes Bolckow
was made to restore Bittern cosmetically, and in an inspired move, members suggested that it could appear as No. 2509 Silver Link, in grey livery with single chimney and valancing. This was implemented by a Manpower Services Commission scheme at ICI Wilton in time for it to appear alongside sisters Nos. 4468 Mallard and 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley at York on July 3 1988 to commemorate 50 years since Mallard’s 126mph world speed record. The major overhaul of Blue Peter to full working order proceeded apace in No. 5 depot at Wilton. The ‘A2’ was formally commissioned in a ceremony involving ICI and the BBC TV programme Blue Peter, with presenter Diane Louise Jordan performing the honours on December 11 1991. No. 60532 was run in on the NYMR and made its main line return in March 1992. Over the next ten years it would visit London, Edinburgh, Carlisle, Holyhead, Swansea, Plymouth, Blackpool, Scarborough and Aberdeen. The low point occurred on October 1 1994 when the outside valve gear was wrecked due to driver error, a massive slip occurring as it left Durham on the ‘Heart of Midlothian’ railtour from Edinburgh to York. It was a major setback, but NELPG bounced back, and within two years Blue Peter was repaired and back in service. A training video detailed the operation of the multiple valve regulator, so that crews wouldn’t repeat the mistake. An Edinburgh-King’s Cross run coincided with the 40th anniversary of the BBC’s Blue Peter programme. At the expiry of its main line ticket in 2001, No. 60532 went back to the NYMR to eke out the final few months of its boiler ticket and was finally withdrawn from service on November 3 2002, having run a total of 21,426 miles on the NYMR. The ‘A2’ then went on static display, first at North Road Museum, Darlington, then Barrow Hill Roundhouse. As agreement with the Drury family for a further period in main line service couldn’t be reached, the locomotive was acquired by the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, and is now at Crewe undergoing a full overhaul. NELPG’s love affair with ‘Pacific’ power is now over, but the generosity of enthusiasts who funded the overhaul, the invaluable help from ICI, and the volunteer force will never be forgotten. The end of NELPG’s spell at ICI Wilton, in August 1998, brought into sharp focus the need to retain the Teesside workforce, and an urgent search for new premises ensued. With help from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and Dr Stuart Nichol, curator of the Head of Steam museum at North Road Station, Darlington, the borough council signed a long-term lease on June 9 2001 for the western section of the former S&DR Carriage Works at Hopetown, Darlington. Internal and external improvements followed, including a connection to rail access outside the building. There then followed a succession of overhauls of the ‘J72’, ‘J27’ and ‘K1’ frames. In its 50th anniversary year, NELPG has settled down to operating, overhauling or maintaining its four locomotives, with a membership of around 600 - about 10% of them active volunteers. In its earliest days, sympathetic BR officers made things happen, or in some cases, prevented bad things, as the group sought to find its feet. Today, individuals and companies of all descriptions continue to help. Thanks are also due to a wide range of funding agencies - private trusts and foundations, local authorities, the Heritage Lottery and PRISM fund, originally part of the Science Museum and now administered by the Arts Council. Without this huge amount of support, NELPG’s locomotives would simply stop steaming. What next? No amount of support will help keep the vision alive if a new generation of members and volunteers don’t come forward. The future lies with the younger members, but there is always room for more. If you share NELPG’s vision of keeping North Eastern steam alive, then visit www.nelpg.org. uk to find out how you can get involved. SR