A wartime locomotive which helped keep North East industry moving is to be recreated at Tanfield Railway – 63 years after it was scrapped in Darlington.
Steam engine No. 68029 was among nearly 400 rugged locomotives commissioned to support the logistical effort of the Second World War, and continued working in the region long after hostilities ended.
Now a surviving “Austerity” locomotive will travel from the Great Central Railway at Loughborough in Leicestershire for Tanfield’s gala weekend on October 17–18.
Using archive photographs, the visiting engine will be given the numbering, lettering and crest of No. 68029, becoming one of seven locomotives in action over the weekend.
The original engine was among 75 bought as war surplus by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1946 and classified as a ‘J94’.
It passed to British Railways in 1948 and was put to work at Tyne Dock before spending five months on loan to the National Coal Board’s Bowes Railway, which linked collieries between Sunderland and Gateshead with the River Tyne at Jarrow.
There it hauled tens of thousands of tons of coal along the historic route designed by George Stephenson and opened in 1826.
Later based at Greenesfield in Gateshead, the locomotive was eventually replaced by diesels and sent to Darlington for scrap in 1963.
Tanfield general manager David Watchman said: “British Railways found the rugged and hard-working ‘J94s’ were ideal for docks, factories and awkward parts of its network where bigger and more glamorous machines couldn’t reach.
“The National Coal Board were huge fans of the design too. They really were unsung heroes of the steam age.
“I can’t wait to see No. 68029 at work in the region for the first time since 1963, even if it is only temporary.”
The visiting locomotive will be joined by another Bowes Railway veteran, Stanley, which was built for East Tanfield colliery before moving to the Bowes system following nationalisation in 1947.
Restored to steam by volunteers four years ago, it is now a regular at Tanfield.
Passenger and demonstration freight trains will run throughout the gala, starting at 9am on both days. Tickets are available on the day or in advance through the Tanfield Railway website.
