Middleton debut for Swanscombe No. 6

THE Middleton Railway’s Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST Swanscombe No.6 (3860/1935) is expected to make its public debut at the Leeds line’s First and Last Chance Event on September 4/5. The loco, pictured here in its newly completed Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers (APCM) livery on August 8, is fresh from overhaul and will be working its first public trains since 1974. The weekend will also provide the final opportunity to see North Eastern Railway ‘H’ 0-4-0T No. 1310 working freight and passenger trains on the Balm Road branch as it retires from service shortly after the event.