Glasses raised on NYMR train in memory of longlost 4-6-0 with brewery link
A SOUTHERN Railway locomotive that was rescued from Barry scrapyard half a century ago but consigned to history in the 1990s was fondly remembered on a North Yorkshire Moors Railway train on September 17.
As highlighted in Heritage Railway issue 297, the engine was S15 class 4-6-0 No. 841, which was withdrawn by BR as No. 30841 in 1964 and sold to Woodham Brothers. In 1972 it was rescued by the Essex Locomotive Society and after restoration at Chappel & Wakes Colne station was returned to steam carrying its SR number of 841 and the name Greene King after the local brewery, in which guise it took part in the Shildon 150 cavalcade in August 1975.
After a spell on the Nene Valley Railway it moved in 1978 to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, where it operated for a number of years before being withdrawn for a major overhaul that started in 1994 and was to lead to a change of identity. During the work its frames were found to be out of alignment and were replaced by those from another Essex Locomotive Society S15 at the NYMR, No. 30825.
Commemoration
No. 841 retained its boiler, tender, and most other parts, but steam locomotives are traditionally numbered from their frames, and so it re-entered traffic as No. 825 without the Greene King name. As a result No. 841 was no more, and today the only reminder of it ever existing are its misaligned frames in undergrowth near the NYMR shed at Grosmont.
As in so many walks of life, steam railway enthusiasts have long memories, and surviving volunteers and shareholders were determined to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of the postBarry restoration and also honour original volunteers and shareholders who had passed away.
And so it was that on September 17, almost exactly half a century to the day after the start of the restoration, the group of about 40 people rode behind No. 825 on a Pickering to Grosmont and return service, complete with a ‘Remembering those who worked on 841 50 years since leaving Barry’ headboard on the S15 up front. They weren’t saying, but doubtless as far as they were concerned, their motive power was No. 841.
That feeling would have been enhanced by the S15 carrying both of the original Greene King nameplates supplied by the Essex Locomotive Society and leading railway artist Malcolm Root, one of the volunteers who helped restore the engine back in 1972.
Malcolm and his wife Meryl were among those who travelled on the train on September 17 and afterwards said: “Not only were there original shareholders and volunteers among those on board, but also children and relatives of some of the members who are no longer with us, which was important as the day was equally as much about those who had passed away.
“Indeed, on the return to Pickering glasses were raised to those no longer with us and without whom the locomotive would not have been restored. It was a memorable trip full of nostalgia and memories of an engine that has in essence been scrapped but at the same time is still with us, and to have it carrying the Greene King name was the icing on the cake.
“Thanks are due to the Essex Locomotive Society, and especially William and Heather Parrish and Nigel Crisp for making the S15 available and for providing very generous refreshments.
“I was also delighted to learn that No. 825 carried the nameplates throughout the railway’s annual steam gala and beer festival the following weekend. As far as I am concerned, No. 841 lives on.”