‘No. 9’ back in action at East Lancashire
JOHN Cameron's LNER A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa has returned to service for the first time in over a year, at the East Lancashire Railway.
The streamlined Gresley Pacific emerged from storage at Buckley Wells shed on April 24, for test runs and crew training. Although these were originally intended to be light engine movements, in the event, the locomotive was given a suitable load with an 18-wagon goods train – recalling the regular use of the ‘Streaks' on express goods work from King's Cross, and their latterday downgrading to freight duties towards the end of their BR service.
It then returned to passenger traffic on May 29-31, including a dining train on the Friday evening, and was also rostered for a further three days of operation on June 2-4. It is booked to appear at the ELR's autumn steam gala on October 15-17, with other steaming dates to be announced.
Hauling an eight-coach train of nearly 300 tons, the A4 performed faultlessly throughout the bank holiday weekend, although the other locomotive in service – ‘Peak' diesel No. 45108 – failed at Rawtenstall on the Monday and was rescued by a Class 33.
Healthy return
David Layland, the ELR's volunteer financial director, said that takings were “well into five figures for the weekend – people have been loving it.”
Permanent way work had been carried out near Irwell Vale to enable ‘No. 9' to run the full length of the line to Rawtenstall, with approximately one-third of a mile of track relaid with concrete sleepers and the rails reprofiled by a Manchester Metrolink grinder; this section had previously been declared out of bounds to larger engines such as the A4.
The freight trains and the late May bank holiday were No. 60009's first runs under its own steam for more than 12 months. The locomotive, made its final main line run on March 7, 2020, hauling the Railway Touring Company's ‘Yorkshireman' railtour from Ealing Broadway to York – after which, with the imposition of Covid-19 restrictions, it remained in storage at the National Railway Museum until it was towed to the ELR by a diesel on October 13.
It is to remain based at the ELR until its boiler certificate expires in April 2022, after which John intends to place it on permanent static display at his farm in Fife alongside his other engine, K4 No. 61994 The Great Marquess.