Kettering Furnaces No. 3 to be Waterford & Suir’s first steam
THREE-FOOT GAUGE Black Hawthorn 0-4-0ST Kettering Furnaces No. 3 is set to steam for the first time since 1962 at the Waterford & Suir Valley Railway in Ireland.
The 1885-built locomotive has been donated to the W&SVR by the National Trust, as part of the organisation’s decision to review its locomotive and rolling stock collection at Penrhyn Castle and disperse the non-Penrhyn-related exhibits elsewhere (see SR554, and separate stories). Although Kettering Furnaces No. 3 is eventually destined to take up residence at the W&SVR – where it will become the first steam locomotive to operate on the hitherto diesel-only Irish line since it opened to passengers in 2003 – the locomotive has been sent to a workshop in North East England, where it will be restored to working order.
W&SVR company secretary and volunteer director Alan Moore said: “I cannot communicate adequately the level of excitement at this announcement. When the company was formed the mission statement included an ambition to one day operate with steam; we are now one big step closer to achieving this.
“We are so grateful to the National Trust for transferring ownership of Kettering Furnaces No. 3 to us. We hope to do them proud as we endeavour to restore this beautiful locomotive back into operation.”
W&SVR general manager Maria Kyte added: “Several companies who specialise in the restoration of heritage locomotives were invited to tender for the restoration of Kettering Furnaces No. 3. The successful tender was submitted by a company in England that has extensive experience in the manufacture of new-build locomotives, as well as the restoration of steam locomotives similar to Kettering Furnaces No. 3. The board are satisfied it will be in very safe hands.”
Kettering Furnaces No. 3 will be stripped down so the scope of the required restoration work can be assessed, with the return to steam expected to be carried out in several phases. The railway estimates that it could cost €250,000 to restore the locomotive. Alongside the restoration, the railway is also installing the necessary infrastructure at its main Kilmadean station to facilitate steam operation.
Kettering Furnaces No. 3 (Works No. 859) was one of three Black Hawthorn 0-4-0STs built for the Kettering Coal & Iron Company Ltd between 1876 and 1887. The trio originally worked the tramway connecting the company’s various ironstone quarries to the blast furnaces situated alongside the Midland Railway’s Kettering-Leicester main line. However, following the expansion of quarrying activities and consequent lengthening of the tramway, the trio were usurped by three larger 0-6-0STs built by Manning, Wardle of Leeds between 1889 and 1906 (Kettering Furnaces Nos. 6-8), with the Black Hawthorn locomotives largely confined to shunting at the furnaces themselves.
Following the quarries’ closure in October 1962, all but two of the locomotives were subsequently scrapped. No. 3 was preserved thanks to the intervention of Bernard Latham and the Industrial Railway Society and, following cosmetic restoration, was placed in the care of the National Trust and sent to Penrhyn on August 21 1963. The other surviving locomotive, Manning, Wardle 0-6-0ST Kettering Furnaces No. 8 (Works No. 1675) was initially preserved outside Kettering Library, but since 1975 has been based at the Market Harborough headquarters of the Welland Valley Vintage Traction Club, which has been cosmetically restoring it.
● To support Kettering Furnaces No. 3’s restoration, visit www.idonate.ie/cause/WaterfordSuirValleyRailwayCompanyCLG