Bluebell accepts offer for ‘Dock Tank’ locomotive
THE Bluebell Railway has sold SR ‘Dock Tank’ No. 30064 to an undisclosed buyer. The ‘Yankee Tank’, which last ran in 1984, has been in store since then – although it was repainted into wartime livery as WD 1959 in 2003.
In a memo, Bluebell Railway Preservation Society chairman Paul Churchman said: “The railway has received an offer to sell No. 30064 to a private individual who wishes to restore it and have it running in the next five-six years. Like many heritage railways we have so much rolling stock and many locos, we simply will never be able to restore them all, let alone maintain everything we have running now.
“No. 30064 will require circa £40,000 spending on it to remove asbestos. That will just deal with that problem and then the loco will still be sat there. There is no slot within the next 20 years to get this locomotive into the works as we have structured an overhaul plan to suit the current and future needs of the operation of the railway and to give us a spread of small, medium and large locos in line with the society’s aims and objectives, while still also looking at what are the most cost effective and time effective overhauls for the money and resources available to us.”
Mr Churchman stressed:
“This is not the thin end of the wedge and will not turn into selling our historic collection
– it is just we will simply never realistically restore this engine and therefore it is right to sell it to someone who will. I have agreement from all boards that the funds will go to the Bluebell Railway Trust and this money will be ring-fenced for locomotive restoration.”
The 0-6-0T moved to Sheffield Park on June 23 ahead of its departure to an unknown site.