B1 moves to Ruddington for next overhaul
LNER Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 1264 is to move from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, its home of the past 10 years, to the Nottingham Heritage Railway to begin its next overhaul.
No. 1264 last ran on the NYMR in 2019 but was withdrawn from traffic in March 2020 following the discovery of cracks in the firebox. These will need to be rectified as part of the overhaul, and the work is likely to include an entirely new inner firebox and attention to the axleboxes and hornguides, a new tender tank, and new tyres.
The move to the heritage line formerly known as the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) is in many ways a return to its spiritual home, as No. 1264 (as 61264) ended its BR career when it was withdrawn from nearby Colwick depot in 1967, having spent time acting as a stationary boiler. The NHR base is also historically appropriate because B1s, including No. 1264, were regular performers on the Great Central main line.
The locomotive has had two lengthy periods in traffic, from 1997 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2019, the latter being worked almost exclusively at the NYMR. Throughout those periods the loco has been main line-registered and has travelled across the network. It fulfilled duties of West Coast Railways’ summer ‘Jacobite’ operation and participated in the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Great Britain’ railtours in 2018 and 2019.
Custodians since it was rescued from scrap in 1976, The Thompson B1 Locomotive Trust intends to keep the B1 main line-registered. The NHR’s soon-to-be restored connection to the main line was another factor in the trust’s decision to move it to Ruddington.
Trust secretary Dave Horton said: “We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to operate at the NYMR over the last decade and we have made many friends there.
“However, it has been a struggle to support the locomotive from such a distance and because many of our members and in particular our engineers are based in the Midlands, it is time to bring the loco closer to home. We are committed to keeping the locomotive available for both heritage railway and main line work.”
NYMR general manager Chris Price said: “The B1 has been a popular and dependable performer on a line to which it is ideally suited, so we are sorry to see it leave. We wish the trust well with the funding of the next overhaul and the locomotive’s early return to service”.
The trust wants to encourage new members to join, stressing that there will plenty of opportunities to get involved with the overhaul at Ruddington. To sign up, visit https://membermojo.co.uk/thompsonb1
Donations towards the overhaul are being invited at www.thompsonb1.org/donate/