GNR ‘J23’/LNER ‘J50/2’ 0‑6‑0T No. 8905
Group: The J50 Group
Project launched: 2013 Project cost: £1.3-1.6 million
Raised to date: £895 Estimated completion date: Declined to say Number of supporters: 8 Location: Norfolk
To run: Preserved railways and main line
This project is one that few have probably heard of, and one that currently stands little chance of seeing the light of day.
Five years ago, some like-minded young enthusiasts came together with the aim of building a steam locomotive from scratch. The group’s website says: “Many different locomotive designs were looked at, but it was decided to rebuild LNER 0-6-0 ‘J50/2’ No. 8905 as it was a local engine to where the group members live, and was an unusual ‘J50’, as she was based at places where very few of her sisters were allocated.
“The ‘J50s’ were very powerful for their size, having a tractive effort of 22,963lb/f – 1,000lb/f more than a ‘B12’. This will make it perfect for long passenger trains on preserved railways.”
The J50 Group also cites the 0-6-0Ts’ light axle loading as being another reason for deciding to replicate one of Sir Nigel Gresley’s shunting engines.
J50 Group Chairman Jamie Ringwood told Steam Railway: “We estimate that No. 8905 will cost between £1.3 and £1.6 million, depending on the cost of materials. We have eight main members and limited funds at the moment, but are on the lookout for both more supporters and donations.
“The project is based in Norfolk as we are all North Norfolk Railway volunteers, and we are currently looking for a location to build No. 8905. It will mainly be used on preserved railways, but it will be built to main line standards.
“We are all very enthusiastic about steam and its future, and as we all wanted to have our own full-size steam locomotive, we decided that having a group project would achieve that goal.”
The group has some 3D drawings, and has acquired a general arrangement drawing from the National Railway Museum, but has yet to start actually building the ‘J50’. Such a milestone is currently a long-term prospect as fund-raising is limited to individual donations and model railway exhibitions raising only a few hundred pounds at a time – hardly what any new-build group should be raising if it is to complete its chosen locomotive within a reasonable timescale.
Indeed, Mr Ringwood confirmed that the group has raised £895 since the project was launched in 2013. On that basis, it would take over 7,200 years to meet the group’s conservative estimate of £1.3 million to build the ‘J50’. If it costs £1.6 million – the group’s upper estimate – that timescale is nearer 9,000 years.
Inconceivable? Yes, but it raises a very serious point. Without proper fund-raising and a business plan in place, projects of this scale are very unlikely to succeed, and enthusiasm can only take you so far. It’s a case of ‘go big or go home’.
However, it is heartening to see young enthusiasts willing to take on a new-build project and many pioneering preservationists in the ’50s and ’60s were similarly young and ambitious, but the ‘J50’ project currently feels less of a serious new-build scheme and more of a personal plaything for the group behind it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, particularly if it can raise the necessary finance and expertise from within its own ranks, but the only realistic way No. 8905 will reach fruition is if the group can capture the interest of the wider enthusiast movement and general public.
Until then, the ‘J50’ is likely to remain on the drawing board.
●● Next month: The Great Western Railway projects.