Photo from the Vintage Carriage Trust Archives

3rd HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND SUCCESS FOR VINTAGE CARRIAGES TRUST

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £50,000 towards the restoration of a Victorian steam locomotive which appeared in the 1968 BBC TV version of The Railway Children, with Jenny Agutter and Gordon Gostelow.

Sir Berkeley, built in Leeds in December 1890 by Manning, Wardle & Company, is to be restored to operational condition thanks to a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the historic Middleton Railway in Leeds, and the locomotive's owners, the Vintage Carriages Trust, based at Ingrow, Keighley, West Yorkshire. The agreement will see the locomotive based at the Middleton Railway, Leeds - a stone's throw from the site of the locomotive's birthplace at the Boyne Engine Works of Manning, Wardle & Company - for the next ten years. Under the agreement, the locomotive's original boiler will be kept and conserved for future generations to see the fascinating method of construction. The boiler barrel is made up of four separate sections riveted together. The boiler barrel is riveted on to a flanging ring, which is itself riveted to the firebox - a practice long since made illegal! To allow the locomotive to be restored to operational condition, a new boiler will be constructed. The Bradford - based company of Israel Newton - which has built several new locomotive boilers in recent years - has tendered for the job. The locomotive's frames, wheelsets and motion will be overhauled by the volunteers of the historic Middleton Railway, Leeds.

"We are absolutely delighted to receive this generous financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund", said Paul Holroyd of the locomotive's owners, the Vintage Carriages Trust, which is based at Ingrow, Keighley. Vintage Carriages Trust is a volunteer-run organisation with a proven track record. The Heritage Lottery Fund has been very supportive of VCT in the past and we are thrilled at this further vote of confidence from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In 1996 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £222,800 to VCT towards the construction of our workshop and improved visitor access and interpretation facilities, and in 2002 we received a further award of £24,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the interior restoration of our 1898-built Great Northern Railway bogie carriage no. 2856. "

Fiona Spiers, HLF Regional Manager commented:

"Sir Berkeley is a locomotive that really captures the imagination of people, both young and old. It's great to know that the locomotive which thrilled fans of the 'Railway Children' all those years ago will now continue to thrill visitors to Middleton Railway. HLF are really happy to be able to support projects such as this, which allow visitors to really get up close to exhibits and learn about our fascinating heritage."

"Sir Berkeley is a rare steam locomotive" explained Jackie Cope of the Vintage Carriages Trust. "Whilst many locomotives which were built for main line railway companies - and also many locomotives which were used as colliery locomotives or at industrial sites - have survived into preservation, there are very few examples of contractor's locomotives - which were actually used in the construction of railways, reservoirs and housing estates."

Middleton Railway Chief Mechanical Engineer, Steve Roberts, said:

"The Middleton Railway Trust is delighted to be working alongside the VCT towards restoration of this historic, Leeds built, contractor's locomotive. When fully restored, it will join our growing fleet of Leeds-built locomotives in telling the story of the Leeds locomotive building industry which first started back in June, 1812"

"We are delighted to be co-operating with the Middleton Railway Trust", said Trevor England of the Vintage Carriages Trust. "Sir Berkeley was built just a stone's throw from the Middleton Railway, so it is appropriate for the locomotive to be restored and operated for the benefit of future generations by the volunteers of the Middleton Railway. Not only will the locomotive be restored, but the original boiler will be conserved and will eventually become a focal point in Middleton Railway's exciting plans to interpret the rich industrial heritage of the Leeds locomotive building industry".

The origins of the Leeds locomotive building industry

The reason why the locomotive is so important lies in the origins of its manufacturer, Manning, Wardle & Company. The city of Leeds had been developing as a locomotive building centre since the very first locomotive left the Round Foundry in Holbeck back in 1812. By 1856, a number of manufacturers had sprung up in the town, perhaps the most notable being the firm of E B Wilson & Company in Pearson Street. E B Wilson & Company foundered in 1858, setting the scene for the next 100 or so years. The company's designs were sold to Manning, Wardle & Company, who had their Boyne Engine Works in Jack Lane in the Hunslet district of Leeds. Within the next few years, two other companies, the Hunslet Engine Company and Hudswell, Clarke & Company also opened premises in Jack Lane. There was a fair amount of staff movement between the three firms, leading to similar designs leaving all three works, whilst both Hudswell, Clarke and the Hunslet Engine Company remained in business for over 100 years each! Manning, Wardle, however, was a little different. This company concentrated on specialised locomotives for contractor's use, building up a range of locomotives suitable for all types of contracting work. More importantly, the company employed "hand building" methods throughout its existence, eschewing the more efficient "mass production" which was fast becoming the norm, and Manning, Wardle & Company ceased trading in 1926.

SIR BERKELEY - a rare and important example of a contractor's locomotive

Sir Berkeley is in fact an E B Wilson design in all but name. The wheels, with two "bosses" for the side rods; the elegant shape of the coal bunker plus the safety valve cover all hark back to E B Wilson. The weatherboard simply puts the "icing on the cake" so far as making Sir Berkeley the epitome of the Victorian contractor's locomotive design. Sir Berkeley, was built as Manning, Wardle & Company's works number 1210. It was supplied new to Messrs. Logan & Hemingway, a firm of engineering contractors who during the latter half of the 19th century and first third of the 20th century worked mainly on railway (and allied) constructions. They were steady customers of Manning Wardle, working the engines hard, selling the older locomotives when business waned and re-stocking with new as contracts required. Sir Berkeley, was built as Manning, Wardle & Company's works number 1210. It was supplied new to Messrs. Logan & Hemingway, a firm of engineering contractors who during the latter half of the 19th century and first third of the 20th century worked mainly on railway (and allied) constructions. They were steady customers of Manning Wardle, working the engines hard, selling the older locomotives when business waned and re-stocking with new as contracts required. As Logan & Hemingway's Number 30, the locomotive was put to work building the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later to be renamed the Great Central Railway) and was noted on the excavation of the Nottingham GCG/GNR joint station (later renamed Nottingham Victoria). A slack period followed the completion of the Great Central Railway, and thinning out the Logan & Hemingway fleet saw the locomotive renumbered from 30 to 10. It is then known to have worked on the Wath Concentration Sidings (1905-07), and the Doncaster Avoiding Line (1908-09) in Yorkshire (both contracts for the GCR), then in Lincolnshire during 1910-15, first at Frodingham Viaduct in-filling, then at the Keadby Deviation line construction. No. 10 was then was next used at the Thoresby Colliery (Nottinghamshire) branch line construction in 1925-26, the Crofton Tunnel Widening at Barnt Green (Worcestershire) for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1926-27, then back to Thoresby Colliery in August 1927 for a couple of months before working on the Hattersley Widening between Mottram and Godley Junction (east of Manchester) for the LNER. In 1930 no. 10 went south to the Wiltshire /Somerset border for its last railway contract, the GWR Westbury and Frome Cut-Offs.

1935 - a new owner and a new name

In 1935 Logan & Hemingway went into liquidation and Manning Wardle 1210 was sold to the Cranford Ironstone Company of Kettering, Northamptonshire, where eventually it received the Sir Berkeley nameplates from a scrapped Manning Wardle locomotive. Sir Berkeley's work at Cranford consisted of hauling loaded ore wagons from the quarry face to the storage sidings, or from the storage sidings up an incline to the LMS interchange sidings. Between 1943 and 1947 it was loaned to the Pilton Quarry in Rutland before returning to Cranford. Eventually, in 1957 Cranford acquired another locomotive and Sir Berkeley was reduced to being the standby locomotive. In 1959 Sir Berkeley was transferred to Byfield Quarries and in 1960 it was made redundant before being formally retired in 1963. Sir Berkeley's work at Cranford consisted of hauling loaded ore wagons from the quarry face to the storage sidings, or from the storage sidings up an incline to the LMS interchange sidings. Between 1943 and 1947 it was loaned to the Pilton Quarry in Rutland before returning to Cranford. Eventually, in 1957 Cranford acquired another locomotive and Sir Berkeley was reduced to being the standby locomotive. In 1959 Sir Berkeley was transferred to Byfield Quarries and in 1960 it was made redundant before being formally retired in 1963.

Preservation: television and an overseas visit

In 1964 Sir Berkeley was purchased for preservation by Mr Roger Crombleholme on behalf of the Narrow Gauge and Light Railway Society, arriving at the infant Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in January 1965. In June 1968 the locomotive appeared in sequences in BBC TV's adaptation of The Railway Children, with Jenny Agutter and Gostelow. This BBC TV version is currently available on DVD and VHS video. The locomotive was then purchased by Vintage Carriages Trust and restored in the early 1990s. In 1996 Sir Berkeley travelled to the Netherlands, visiting Stichting Museum Buurt Spoorweg at Haaksbergen and Het Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum at Utrecht. The locomotive visited the North Norfolk Railway, Sheringham in April / May 1997, and then returned to the Middleton Railway, Leeds, before heading south again.

In July 1997 Sir Berkeley hauled the re-opening special at the Mid Norfolk Railway, Dereham. This was the first steam-hauled passenger train from Dereham since 1955. Sir Berkeley took part in Middleton Railway's Gala Weekend in September 1997, before visiting the East Anglian Railway Museum, Chappel & Wakes Colne, Essex for three months. 1998 saw the locomotive visit the Foxfield Railway, near Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, before returning to the Middleton Railway.