SAFE FROM SCRAP: ‘CALEY’ 0-6-0 PROTECTED BY ‘LISTED’ STATUS
Future secured for McIntosh locomotive; the second to become a Belgian ‘national treasure’.
A CAledoniAn Railwaystyle 0-6-0 has been placed on a list of ‘national treasures’ in Belgium - which should prevent a repeat of the controversial scrapping of a similar locomotive.
McIntosh‑designed No. 41.195, formerly part of Belgium’s national collection but donated to the Stoomcentrum Maldegem preserved line in 2014, has been declared a ‘Flemish Top Piece’ ‑ effectively giving it listed status. This means that the locomotive cannot be scrapped, dismantled or altered in any way, nor may it leave the Flemish part of Belgium without official sanction ‑ although it would be permitted to go abroad temporarily for restoration. As reported in SR428, the possibility is being explored of sending it to the UK for a contract overhaul to main line standard. The listing allows Maldegem to apply for subsidies towards its restoration, although the line will first seek such funding for its miniature Tubize ‘Pacific’. This 60cm gauge machine is the only other steam locomotive with ‘Top Piece’ status, thanks to its appearance at the 1935 Brussels World Exposition. No. 41.195 is one of 1,384 Belgian locomotives built to the designs of Caledonian Railway Locomotive Superintendent J.F. McIntosh, including 0‑6‑0s, 4‑4‑2Ts and ‘Dunalastair’ 4‑4‑0s. It is the last remaining example of the Type 41 design, while one of the similar Type 44 0‑6‑0s ‑ No. 44.225 ‑ remains in the national collection. The latter was rendered the sole survivor of its class in August 2002, when Belgian National Railways (SNCB) sent No. 44.021 for scrap (SR275/276). No. 41.195 holds further significance as the only preserved standard gauge steam locomotive constructed in the Flemish part of Belgium, most of the country’s locomotive builders being situated in the Walloon (French‑ speaking) area. Turned out in 1910 by Gilain of Tienen, it is one of 87 engines built by that firm between 1905 and 1922, the only other survivor being a metre gauge steam tram.