Changing places
IT’S SOMEWHAT of a paradox to assume that a steam engine – a thing that is designed to move considerable distances – should stay in one place indefinitely. But, as enthusiasts, can we imagine a locomotive like ‘Flying Pig’ No. 43106 being based anywhere apart from the Severn Valley, or ‘Black Five’ No. 5428 ‘Eric Treacy’ not being housed at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway? The simple answer is ‘no’, but in recent months that’s what has happened, with engines uprooting and departing for pastures new. The most notable cases of this can be seen in ‘Jubilee’ No. 5593 Kolhapur, about to leave Tyseley for an unknown destination. This followed a similar move, with ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ ‘Black Five’ No. 45110 leaving Bridgnorth for a new future. Both of these engines – big 4‑6‑0s – were based at their locations for long periods of time and were seen as part of the furniture, despite being mothballed.
Now, at this point, it’s worth highlighting that both the above examples were moved on for different reasons – the ‘Jubilee’ didn’t fit into Tyseley’s operating requirements, despite its sentimental value, while No. 45110 was sold to raise revenue for its parent railway. Yet, no matter what the reason it’s noticeable that the amount of engines – from the big to the small – that have changed hands in the last six months is well into double figures. I can’t remember the last time there were so many moves in such a short space of time, and I would even argue that even in the days of Barry there weren’t as many moves as there have been recently.
Is it the start of an ongoing trend, indicative of the state of our movement? I would argue that, yes, there has to be an element of that – owners who may have bought engines in past decades may feel that the time has come to move them on, especially if they’re still unrestored or haven’t worked for an appreciable length of time. Like it or not, there is an ageing demographic in the steam movement, and more and more I suspect that, like a costly pet that has become too difficult to own, we’ll be seeing this situation repeated. Let us also hope that the new owners intend to place the engines back in the public eye and not continue the cycle of storage. At the end of the day, I’ll be doing my best to keep up with what goes where, but I will say that it’s just extra confirmation that these are interesting times, and that this year will certainly bring more.