Thanks to the editor of Heritage Railway Magazine, Robin Jones, we are able to bring you the article on Dunrobin that I wrote and was published in late 2013.  It can be found in the ‘downloads’ section of this site, under ‘articles’, along with a growing archive of such material on the transport collections at Beamish. By way of a distraction from all of the recent tramway news here, I present a selection of images of Dunrobin that have come to us for the archive and will in due course assist in the production of a fairly comprehensive book on 4085 and the coaches of the Duke of Sutherland.

This collection of scenes comes from a wonderful scrapbook on Dunrobin’s Canadian exploits created by British Columbia resident David Davies, who very kindly donated all of his material to us.  It has now been scanned and forms a core record, alongside those supplied by Fort Steele, of the engine’s long working life in Canada. These view show the engine at New Westminster whilst being prepared for operation in 1965 (note that it was stripped to bare metal for the repaint and the front buffer beam was removed to gain access to the cylinders) and then on a test run to Steveston on the 27th June 1966.

Note the Centennial lettering has not been added to the coach at this stage and also the lining on the smokebox front – very unusual to see on a British outline locomotive.  We have been very fortunate in the amount of material relating to Dunrobin that has been so freely offered, and in due course this will enable a very full picture of the loco (and coach’s) life to be created.