Ecclesbourne set to resteam pair this year
TWO locomotives are set to return to steam on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) this year – one for the first time in the heritage era.
Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No. 1884 of 1955 No. S102 Cathryn has just been reboilered.
First designed for the Port of London Authority in 1915, this class of engine continued in production until the end of steam locomotive building at the Leeds firm.
Supplied new to the NCB's Newmarket Colliery at Stanley in Wakefield, it worked there until 1969 with sister No. 1864 of 1952 No. S013.
After repairs at the NCB central workshops at Allerton Bywater, it was then drafted to St Johns Colliery, Wakefield, and it alternated between there and the town's Park Hill Colliery until the end of its working life in March 1977.
Several of these locomotives were converted by the NCB to the gas production system, which entailed them being provided with underfeed stokers, and this also required the conversion of the funnel to a characteristic conical design which Cathryn now has.
The Railway Executive plate which can be seen on the tank sides is a licence plate indicating that the locomotive is authorised for main line working. Therefore, it is likely that one of the collieries at which Cathryn worked had main line exchange sidings, requiring it to make short journeys onto the main line to despatch or collect wagons. Though powerful, the class was not renowned for its smoothness of operation.
Preservation
First stored at S Harrison, Tinsley, it then moved to the South Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society at Penistone and Meadowhall, and then the Elsecar Steam Railway, before finally arriving at Wirksworth.
Of the four sister engines in preservation, one is at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, and one (No. S100, possibly also from Stanley) is at the Chasewater Railway. Another is at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre and one went to the Llangollen Railway.
It is hoped to have Cathryn resteam by mid to late summer, by which time Bagnall Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 2746 of 1944 The Duke may be close to running again. The railway could then have as many as seven locomotives in steam by the end of 2021, said a spokesman.
Built for the War Department, some time after the Second World War it was sold to the NCB and ended its working days at Featherstone Colliery. A group of Peak Rail members bought it in 1983 and moved it to that line's former Buxton site.
Restoration was completed in 1988 and after moving to Peak Rail's then-new Darley Daile site in 1990, it was used on passenger trains, carrying a BR livery and number as J94 No. 68012. It moved to Wirksworth in November 2010 and is undergoing routine boiler work, aided by the 48624 Locomotive Company Limited. ➜ The EVR is planning to restart services on April 15 with Escape to the Countryside Bounce Back trips using compartment stock for social distancing runs from Wirksworth on selected dates. No tickets are available over the counter on the day but can be booked online right up to departure time at www.e-v-r.com subject to availability, or in advance by telephoning 01629 823076.