Tanfield ‘Austerity’ joins North Tyneside anniversary gala line-up
ROBERT Stephenson & Hawthorns-built ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 49 (7098/1943) will be making a very rare visit away from its Tanfield Railway home on July 9-11, when it appears at the North Tyneside Steam Railway’s (NTSR) 30th Anniversary gala.
The event, which will also feature ‘J27’ 0-6-0 No. 65984 (RM, June), will see No. 49 return to part of its former stamping ground for the first time in preservation.
During its National Coal Board career at Backworth Colliery,
No. 49 regularly ran between Backworth and the coal staithes at Whitehill Point and would pass through the site of the NTSR’s Middle Engine Lane base and following the route of the current heritage line.
The NTSR and Stephenson Steam Railway want the gala to not only celebrate the achievements of the past three decades, but also pay tribute to the history of the area and its railways. The presence of the NELPG-owned ‘J27’, for example, is a direct throwback to the steam era when what is now the NTSR’s terminus in Percy Main was a regular haunt for ‘J27s’. The shed there was almost exclusively filled with these locos right up until the closure of the depot in 1965.
Joining the two guest engines will be resident Bagnall ‘New Standard 18’ 0-6-0ST No. 401 (2994/1951), resplendent in its eye-catching Steel Company of Wales maroon livery. The Bagnall is currently the only operational steam loco on the line, but visitors to the gala will have the opportunity to see the other members of the steam fleet, including under overhaul Peckett ‘OX1’ 0-6-0ST Ashington No.5 (1970/1939), RSH 0-6-0T
No. 1 (7683/1951) and Kitson 0-6-0PT ANo.5 (2509/1883), as well as inspect progress on the restoration of Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 69 (3785/1953). For more information visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/stephensonrailway/e-bxpmoa