‘S160’ LANDS AT NYMR BEFORE MOVE TO DARTMOUTH
‘S160’ No. 2253 has returned to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, six years after it originally left the line.
The USATC 2‑8‑0 was delivered to New Bridge Yard from Northern Steam Engineering in Stockton in early February, before being taken by rail to the main workshop at Grosmont on February 20, where its overhaul will be completed.
Owner Peter Best said the engine is four to six weeks away from steaming, with the main outstanding job being the air‑ braking equipment, and it is likely to begin running‑in trials over the NYMR in early April, before moving to its eventual home on the Dartmouth Steam Railway in May.
When No. 2253 returns to service for its second stint in preservation, it will be sporting an unusual ‘Burrell plum’ red livery. Mr Best said: “It’s as close as you can get to the red worn by the Canadian Pacific ‘Royal Hudsons’. Technically, it should be black or grey, but I wanted something different, and that colour suits it.”
The engine’s tender is complete and ready to go, but the locomotive itself is currently in undercoat.
No. 2253’s brief return to the ‘Moors’ marks the first time the engine has graced the line since it originally departed its first preservation home in 2013. Mr Best imported the engine from Poland in 1992 and took it to the NYMR, where it returned to traffic after restoration the following year. It ran for seven years until it was withdrawn with firebox problems.
After it was stored for 13 years in the headshunt at Grosmont, Mr Best bought back the engine and it was given a cosmetic overhaul before it eventually made its way to Stockton for its boiler to be overhauled, while Mr Best’s team refurbished the bottom end.