BARCLAY BLAST ON FOXFIELD BANK IS A FIVE DECADE FIRST
ex-scrapyard 0-6-0T turns back the clock to haul coal trains again after nearly 50 years.
Almost 50 years since it last worked a coal train, Barclay 0‑6‑0T Carron No. 14 proved that it still has what it takes at the Foxfield Railway during July.
The 108‑year‑old engine, back in authentic condition after more than a decade operating in a pseudo‑ Caledonian Railway blue livery, was the star guest at the Foxfield steam gala on July 20/21.
Working as part of a five‑engine line‑up, its visit was something of a coup for the Staffordshire line; No. 14 (Andrew Barclay Works No. 1245 of 1911) was making its first trip away from the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway since it returned to steam in April
2006, following 32 years in the famous Muir’s scrapyard in Fife.
Its newly applied Carron Iron Company black livery looked remarkably at home on the recently strengthened rake of vintage North Staffordshire Railway carriages but, as ever, it was coal trains on the infamous 1‑in‑19 gradient from Foxfield Colliery that stole the limelight.
The 18in‑cylindered machine handled coal trains solo, and with members of the home fleet, as well as taking part in the now customary early morning charter organised by the 3P20 photographic group.
Home‑based Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0‑6‑0ST pair Wimblebury and Whiston (the latter only recently returned from a stint on the Churnet Valley Railway) also made their presence known on coal trains, while shorter trains were handled by Beyer Peacock 0‑4‑0ST Works No. 1827 and Dübs 0‑4‑0 crane tank Works No. 4101.
About 750 people attended, maintaining Foxfield’s position at the top end of industrial railway events. With the ever‑increasing costs of hosting such events, that number helped the gala reach the crucial break‑even point. The home fleet will be back in action on September 28/29 for ‘Harvest of Steam’, which will also feature road‑going steam.