NER 0-4-0T No. 1310 prepares to depart Moor Road with a late-morning passenger train as debutante Swanscombe No. 6 waits in the loop beneath sunny skies on September 5.
BEN BUCKI
NEWLY overhauled Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST Swanscombe No. 6 (3860/1935) is back in traffic at the Middleton Railway, some 46 years after it last worked a train and 20 years since its overhaul was begun.
The former Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers (APCM) locomotive worked its first public passenger train since October 18, 1975 on August 22, as part of its running-in trials, but it was officially welcomed back into service during the Leeds line’s First and Last Chance Gala on September 4/5.
No. 6, resplendent in a vibrant version of its original APCM livery, performed very well over the course of the two days. It worked a variety of passenger and goods turns over the main line between Moor Road and Middleton Park, as well as making several forays over the Balm Road branch and, according to Middleton spokesman, Ian Smith, “fully justified the time and money spent on it.”