O&K loco back in steam at Butterley after 50 years
A LOCOMOTIVE has returned to steam at the Midland Railway-Butterley half a century after being imported to the UK.
Following a heavy overhaul that lasted more than 20 years, Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT No. 7529 of 1914, which waited half a century to be rebuilt, is set to haul passenger trains at the venue's 2ft gauge Golden Valley Light Railway when Covid-19 restrictions allow.
Just before the outbreak of the First World War, the 50hp locomotive was supplied new to Bellefille Levau, which was developing a sand quarry at Sable et Gres de Nemours, France. It worked there until 1967 when it was bought by an enthusiast from Ripley in Surrey and was brought to England for restoration. It eventually moved to the now-defunct Cadeby Light Railway in Leicestershire, where it stayed in the ownership of another enthusiast until 1995.
It arrived at Swanwick Junction on January 28 that year and is now owned by Golden Valley members Eddie and Pat Draper.
One unusual feature is a steamoperated bell, which would have normally been fitted to locomotives that were required to operate on a roadside line. The line at Nemours did have some roadside running, but none of its other locomotives were equipped with bells.