NEW-BUILD 2ft gauge Bagnall ‘Sipat’ 0-4-0ST Big Dave left North Bay Railway Engineering (NBRE) in Darlington on November 23, arriving on West of Fife Munitions Railway metals the following day. Test steaming and shakedown runs followed at the beginning of December with NBRE staff assisting on-site.
The addition of steam to the 2ft gauge line is a game changer for the Shed 47 Railway Restoration Group, which also anticipates the introduction of steam on the standard gauge line at the Lothalmond site.
Formerly known as Lothalmond Royal Naval Stores Depot, the site is also home to the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum.
Big Dave brings resident operational steam to a Scottish narrow gauge line for the first time in many years, it is thought since Christmas 2003 when Fowler 0-4-2T (13355/14) Saccharine last steamed at the Alford Valley Railway before being sold in 2004 and relocated to England. The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway has periodically entertained visiting steam, the last occasion being Nick Williams’ Andrew Barclay 0-4-0T Jack in July 2017.