Coffee Pot appears at NRM Shildon industrial locomotive event…
This Sunday/Monday the National Railway Museum at Shildon are holding a May Day steam event focusing on industrial steam locomotives. Our own Coffee Pot features, alongside Captain Baxter (Bluebell Railway) and Peckett ‘F C Tingey’ (Kirby Stephen). WST, the Bowes’ Barclay is on long term hire to the NRM and the line up also featured Shildon resident Austerity ‘Juno’, newly repainted, and the LCLT’s J21 0-6-0 65033. Inside the shed there are numerous changes, including the ex African 4-8-0 and Black 5 class No.5000.
Coffee Pot made a number of full line runs – its longest sustained runs in this guise, and it performed very well indeed, the boiler steaming against the work. However, with the 3:1 gearing, progress is sedate to say the least!
Here is a selection of views taken during the day – apologies for the prominent black dot on some pictures – this seems to be a sensor malfunction on my camera – they don’t make them engine proof it seems!
Great photographs – shame about the J21 though, apart from the repaint it doesn’t seem to be in any condition than when it left Beamish
Hi Richard – I can assure you that the LCLT (Locomotive Conservation & Learning Trust) has worked tirelessly to secure a working future for the J21 but unfortunately three HLF applications have been rejected despite feedback stating that there was nothing that would improve the third bid such was its high quality. The trust is now exploring its options as the future of the J21 is uppermost in the minds of the trustees and several avenues are currently being investigated. These things take time and the J21 will require a comprehensive and expensive rebuild to restore to working order – but this remains the objective that the LCLT has set itself so, as ever, watch this space…
Best regards
Paul
Hi Paul, many thanks for the information – hope I didn’t appear to be bashing LCLT there. It’s a definite shame the HLF have rejected the applications, as a fine example of a typical Victorian locomotive I can’t think of many more deserving railway/transport causes, although I am heavily NER biased.
Fingers crossed and good luck to LCLT then and look forward to hopefully hearing about developments in the near future
I keep coming back here. I had a chance to drive Baxter a few weeks before she went cold. Coffee Pot was in the same shed . The 2 other steam locos were looking good covered in grease . All found homes thankfully.