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Visiting locomotives from other railways at Alston from 1986 to 1995 |
1. Kerr Stuart 0-4-0ST �Peter Pan�.
(Normally based at the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway, Bedfordshire)
Introduction:-
�Peter Pan� hauled the first steam trains to be run on the South Tynedale Railway during the first Enthusiasts� Weekend event, which took place at Alston on 9th and 10th August 1986. The locomotive also visited the South Tynedale Railway for further Enthusiasts� Weekend events, that were held each year between 1987 and 1993.
Locomotive Details:-
This locomotive is one of only four survivors in the U.K., of the �Wren� class of locomotive, 167 were built. This 4� ton, 28 horse power locomotive was built by Kerr Stuart and Company, of Stoke-on-Trent in 1922 as works No. 4256, with 5 inch by 9 inch cylinders.
Originally supplied to an Essex contractor, it was sold to Thomas W. Ward, plant dealers, in 1929 to Devon County Council for use in roadstone quarries, where it was given its name. In use until the 1950s, it was bought for preservation in 1959 and was twice resold before being fully restored by 1976.
Now owned by Graham Morris of Daventry, it regularly makes visits to other railways both in England and Europe.
Photo above: Kerr Stuart 0-4-0ST �Peter Pan� stands outside Alston engine shed awaiting its next turn of duty, with its owner Graham Morris standing next to it, during Enthusiasts Weekend on Saturday 28th July 1990. Photograph by Daniel McIntyre.
Photo below: �Peter Pan� during being transported from Devon, at Beacon Down Quarry, Parracombe, on route for preservation. Photograph by R.M. Sinclair, taken from Industrial Railway Record No. 157, June 1999, published by the Industrial Railway Society.
Archive photograph and details:-
The following article was written by R.M. Sinclair and was published in the Industrial Railway Record No. 157, June 1999, which is produced by the Industrial Railway Society.
The 2 feet gauge Kerr Stuart �Wren� class locomotives were used on Devon County Council work. Before the advent of JCB diggers and dumper traucks, road making schemes used these ‘portable’ locomotives in Devon. I saw a superb piece of film on West Country Television showing the Devon locomotives in use. A large cutting had been made in the hillside and the spoil was used to build an embankment over the valley with about a mile of track.
I was involved with three Kerr Stuart locomotives, owned by Devon County Council. These were fitted with rectaangular brass plates, reading “R.M. Stone, County Surveyor” above or below the number plates in the late 1920s. In the 1950s, I helped to save three of these locomotives from the scrap heap - ‘Peter Pan’ now beautifully restored by Graham Morris, ‘Lorna Doone’ donated to the Birmingham Science Museum and ‘Pixie’ which went to Canada.
The photograph shows ‘Peter Pan’ (Kerr Stuart, works no. 4256, built in 1922) dumped at Beacon Down Quarry, Parracombe. Subsequently after collecting the locomotives, we stopped for the night in Taunton, as there was no M5 motorway in those days!
The next morning, some wag had chalked his comment on the tank, but more importantly confirmed the locomotive’s name.
2. Baguley 0-4-0T �Rishra�.
(Normally based at the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway, Bedfordshire)
Introduction:-
This locomotive visited Alston for the Enthusiasts� Weekend on 5th and 6th September 1987.
Locomotive Details:-
This 3� ton, 10 horse power locomotive was built by E.G. Baguley of Burton-on-Trent, in 1921 as works No. 2007, with 4 inch by 8 inch cylinders, was the last survivor of the �Flanders� class. This tiny machine is the only known survivor of the small number of steam engines built by Baguley, who were much better known for their diesel locomotives and railcars. The diminutive tank engine was shipped to India in 1922 and it was supplied to the Calcutta Corporation, where it shunted coal wagons at a water pumping station.
Discovered in derelict condition by Mike Satow, it was rebuilt by apprentices, repatriated in two packing cases during 1971, then assembled for use on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway in Bedfordshire. It also appeared on display at the Stockton and Darlington Railway 150th anniversary celebrations in 1975.
Photo: Baguley 0-4-0T �Rishra� photographed inside Alston engine shed in September 1987. Photograph by Daniel McIntyre.
3. Hunslet 0-4-0ST �Irish Mail�.
(Normally based at the West Lancashire Light Railway, Preston, Lancs.)
Introduction:-
This locomotive visited Alston during the Enthusiasts� Weekend events held on 5th and 6th September 1987 and on 28th and 29th July 1990.
Locomotive Details:-
This 6� ton, 35 horse power locomotive was built by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds in 1903, as works No. 823, with 7 inch by 10 inch cylinders. This was one of the many narrow gauge steam locomotives used in the North Wales slate quarries, this one was based at Dinorwic and it remained in use until the 1950s, being put up for sale with three others after closure in 1969. It was bought by members of the West Lancashire Light Railway, at Hesketh Bank, Preston, and was minus its boiler, but a replacement one was found, on the top of a Welsh slate mountain, from similar loco �Alice�.
Restoration work took the next ten years, being completed in time for the 1980 operating season. �Irish Mail� has since visited the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway on several occasions.
Photo: Hunslet 0-4-0ST �Irish Mail� at Alston Station, with visiting Kerr Stuart 0-4-0ST �Peter Pan� behind it in September 1987. Photograph by Daniel McIntyre.
4. Orenstein and Koppel 0-4-0T �Montalban No.22�.
(Normally based at the West Lancashire Light Railway, Preston, Lancs.)
Introduction:-
This locomotive visited Alston during the Enthusiasts� Weekend events held on 29th and 30th July 1989, on 27th and 28th July 1991, and on 25th and 26th July 1992.
Locomotive Details:-
This 7� ton, 30 horse power locomotive was built by Orenstein and Koppel of Berlin in 1913, as works No. 6641, with 7 inch by 12 inch cylinders. It was bought from Minas y Ferrocarril de Utrillas S.A., Spain in 1984 by Mr. K. Nicholls, for use on the West Lancashire Light Railway.
A complete rebuild, including a new boiler, was completed in early 1989.
Photo: Orenstein and Koppel 0-4-0T �Montalban� stands outside Alston engine shed on Saturday 22nd July 1989. Photograph by Daniel McIntyre.
For more information about the South Tynedale Railway, please contact:-
THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY,
Registered Office Address:-
The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.
Telephone 01434 381696.
Talking timetable - Telephone 01434 382828.
Registered Charity No. 514939.
Limited by Guarantee: Company Registration No. 1850832 (England).
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This page was last updated on 14th July 2007.
� South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society 2007.