USA TO BEAMISH: PENRHYN VETERAN GLYDER RETURNS
Repatriated Andrew Barclay makes first moves in preservation at Beamish.
Penrhyn Quarry veteran Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT Works No. 1994 Glyder – a locomotive many enthusiasts once feared they would never see again after it was exported to the USA in 1965 – has moved under its own power for the first time in over 50 years.
Repatriated in 2012 after five decades in private storage in Indiana, the 1931-built locomotive steamed for the first time since 1964 on June 19 for running-in trials, before it was formally launched during Beamish’s ‘Old King Coal’ event on June 26-30.
Its return to steam was also the first time Glyder had operated in County Durham since the 1930s, having been originally built as
Grey for the Durham County Water Board to assist in the construction of Burnhope reservoir. Once the contract was complete, Grey was sold in 1938 for use on the Penrhyn Quarry railway system, where it acquired its present identity and was re-gauged to suit the quarry’s 1ft 10¾in gauge track.
Retired from Penrhyn service in 1964, Glyder was one of six locomotives purchased by American antiques dealer C.B. Arnette in July 1965 and exported to the USA. There, Glyder, Avonside 0-4-0T Works No. 2066
Ogwen and ‘Quarry Hunslet’ 0-4-0ST Works No. 364 Winifred were sold at auction to Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman for his ill-fated Early Wheels Museum at Terre Haute, Indiana.
Winifred ended up in storage at the race tack, while Glyder and Ogwen were subsequently stored in a shed on the Hulman estate and hidden from public view for nearly 50 years, until Julian Birley, Martyn Ashworth and Graham Morris negotiated to buy Winifred, Ogwen and Glyder respectively in early 2012 (SR400-2).
Mr Morris, who also owns Kerr, Stuart ‘Wren’ Peter Pan and who repatriated Avonside 0-4-0T Works No. 2071 Elidir in 2006, subsequently moved Glyder to Beamish where its restoration to working order (and conversion back to 2ft gauge) started in October 2015.
Although parts of the firebox have been replaced and the boiler has been re-tubed, minimal work has been done in order to preserve Glyder’s Penrhyn patina.
The assistant director of transport industry and design at Beamish, Paul Jarman, said: “The first time we steamed it, the snagging list was no longer than a normal fitness-to-run examination would throw up! It was very pleasing to hear the injectors running cleanly first time – given that they have had minimal attention and had not been used since 1964!
“Both we and the owner are keen for it to remain at Beamish for the benefit of our visitors. We have to recover some of the investment of time and money after all. This doesn’t mean it won’t visit other railways in due course, but for now it is based solely at Beamish.”