Until April 1999 this was our big restoration project, but the engine is now well and truly up and about, and winning hearts everywhere it's been. The oldest working standard gauge engine in Britain, plus the North London Railway Coach, were amongst the star guests at this year's Railfest 2004, marking the world's first steam railway, 200 years ago. The North Yorkshire Moors railway wrote a glowing "thank you" letter following our visit in the autumn of 2000, saying the staff had "fallen in love with the locomotive" and praising us for our "enthusiasm and dedication in providing such a spectacular and unique train" that was the "highlight" of their gala event.
FR Number 20 is limited to a maximum trailing load of 75 tons, because of its age, and relatively low power output by modern standards. For this reason it is not used on daily L&HR trains, which can easily top 250 tons on some days, although it does sometimes double-head with other locomotives when occasion demands. FR Number 20 works a series of special trains "at home" on the L&HR every summer, as well as charter specials. It's regular high summer Tuesday evening outings have now become the "Victorian Evening", combining a trip behind the engine with a cruise on the Furness Railway built Windermere lake steamer the "Tern". It also pays visits to other railways for their special events, a task for which it is much in demand. Already it has been to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the Barrow Hill roundhouse and Midland Railway Centre. You can rest assured that these won't be the last special appearances - watch this website for the the latest news first!
In September 2000 we completed a contract for the locomotive to appear in a starring role alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in her film "Possession", based on A. S. Byatt's award-winning novel (see photo, left). The rest of its time the locomotive takes a starring role in the engine shed at Haverthwaite, where it attracts a steady stream of visitors.
Although the locomotive is now a "runner", there is still much work to do. It needs much running maintenance, being the oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive in the country, and also needs to be kept spotlessly clean: one of the requirements of the grants to fund the restoration was that it would be a 'working museum piece'. Volunteers clean the locomotive, top to bottom, every week, and on a daily basis when it is running. And when there's a visit away, or a run at the L&HR, the engine becomes a hive of activity, preparing and checking all parts before the run, providing the support crew whilst it is in steam, and then completing another extensive checklist once it is back inside the engine shed.
This locomotive is our current big project, and is now all but complete - having hauled its first passenger train between Haverthwaite and Lakeside on 1st September 2006, its first in 43 years! During its mainline service, 5643 ran in the south Wales valleys, so will be well suited to the steeply-graded wooded valley through which the L&HR runs on its way to the shores of Windermere.
Like many ex-British Railways engines, it was sent to the Barry scrapyard at the end of its life, but was not cut up, and was "saved" in the 1970s. Several earlier restoration projects foundered, before it was bought by the Trust. Since then work came on in leaps and bounds, especially after the restoration of Furness Railway Number 20 was completed. Restoring a locomotive is a complicated business. Like many such projects, 5643 required major work on its boiler. Because boilers are then given "tickets" - a licence for use which last 10 years - it is common practice to leave the boiler work until last, so as to get as much use out of your restored boiler as possible.
There is a team of about half a dozen working regularly on this project, a lot of it out in the open. 5643 is a typical "Barry wreck" (the name given to all former inmates of the south Wales scrapyard) and is similar to many such restoration schemes all around the country. There are regular work days on the locomotive: would you consider giving time or money to this project?
Once completed, 5643 will become a mainstay engine on the L&HR (unlike Furness Railway Number 20, this is a powerful beast well able to handle daily trains) and will be hired out to other lines, to bring in income to the Trust. This will help to pay for future projects, like "Wootton Hall", more on which below, and, looking further ahead, for Number 20's next heavy general overhaul when its current boiler ticket expires in 2009.
Next in the queue after 5643, this is our "big" engine! There had long been a desire amongst members to own a main line tender locomotive, preferably one that hauled express passenger trains. 4979 "Wootton Hall" came up for sale locally in early 1994 and members of the Trust stepped in quickly to secure the purchase.
It is currently stored away from the L&HR on a private site (there simply isn't room at Haverthwaite at the moment) and work will start in earnest once 5643 is earning its crust. There is a small team that visits the engine once a week to carry out preventative maintenance - keeping all surfaces painted, removing rust, cutting away parts that are so badly wasted they will need replacing, and buying parts as funds allow (for example, we have been able to buy some parts for 4979 when we put in the order for the same, standardised part for 5643).
"Fluff" is our first locomotive, bought from the Barrow Steelworks before the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway even reopened in 1973, to haul works trains. The little diesel has been out of action for a number of years, but has now received a cosmetic restoration, carried out by two of the FRT's younger members, under the umbrella of the 5643 restoration team.
"Fluff" has now gone on display outside the engine shed at Haverthwaite, a small but important part of our heritage.
The Furness Railway Trust owns the oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive in the country, but the carriage stock on the L&HR dates from the 1950s. We are now making real progress assembling a suitable train that is worthy to go behind an engine as special as Furness Railway Number 20.
The first major step was taken on 15th February 2001, when the Trust was awarded a grant of £49,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, covering 85% of the cost of restoring the first vehicle in this train. This has paid for the return to working order of the Trust's North London Railway 2nd class coach body, which later ran on the Furness Railway before ending up in the grounds of Ulverston station. This body had then been used as a store at Haverthwaite for thirty years. The restored body is mounted on a shortened former British Railways PMV luggage van; the contracts for both the chassis shortening, and the repair of the old teak body, were let to the Appleby Heritage Centre in East Cumbria.
The coach is described as "unique" and "historically very important" and passengers can now experience Victorian-style travel behind a Victorian locomotive, during the Victorian Evenings every August, and on other special occasions when FR2o hauls this atmospheric vehicle!
The Trust is now considering a grant-aid strategy for the second vehicle in what we intend will eventually be a complete vintage train. The FRT has acquired a second former North London Railway vehicle body - this time a Guard's and Luggage van that complements the 2nd class coach perfectly. A chassis has been identified, so work can start as soon as the money is found. We were fortunate in having twice secured major grant-aid funding, so have experience of the immense amount of work required to complete these projects.
Railway restoration and maintenance is an expensive business! It cost about £150,000 to return Furness Railway Number 20 to working order. The work on 5643 will have set us back by well over £100,000 (and this is very cheap, because so much of the work was done by volunteer labour) - and this money has had to be raised from scratch following the completion of Furness Railway Number 20, which had drained the coffers dry. So where does the money come from?
First of all, many of our members supplement their annual subscriptions with donations towards the activities of the Trust. Members of the public also make donations when they visit Furness Railway Number 2o. The Trust is eternally grateful to all those who give money to help us achieve our goals.
Our chairman, Tim Owen, who undertook a major part of the restoration of Number 20 along with locomotive superintendent Alan Middleton, has written a book on the engine, titled "The Great Survivor". This brings in a steady stream of income not only from our sales stand and from sales at Haverthwaite, but everywhere the engine goes too.
In 1999 we were also given a lovely water-colour of Number 20 at work on the L&HR, donated by the artist Roger Street to use as we chose to raise funds. This kind offer was made by someone who is not a member of the Trust, and indeed had never even seen the locomotive in the flesh at the time he committed it to canvas (he worked from photographs); we are extremely grateful for this kind offer. A limited edition series of 850 prints are selling well, and are also making us money.
We have a sales stand that tours model railway exhibitions, traction engine fairs and the like which brings in a slice of revenue. This sales operation is also in action at Ulverston's Dickensian festival (Ulverston is the nearest town to the L&HR) when the Trust operates a shop during the event each year in late November.
In addition, having Number 20 out and about brings in a certain amount of income: we charge other railways a daily steaming fee for the privilege of using the oldest working standard gauge engine in Britain. The filming contact with Gwyneth Paltrow also brought in some money in hiring fees, but is equally valuable in raising the profile of the Trust.
And then there's our musical dimension...
How many heritage railways can lay claim to having their own folk group?! The social side of the business has always been very important, and Live Steam was born of sing-a-rounds in the mess van after an evening in the local pub! Unlike most such singing sessions, these ones were at least half decent, and a band was formed to take things further.
That was all in the dim and distant past, and Live Steam are now a regularly established feature on the local music circuit - performing all over Cumbria and Lancashire on a regular basis, and donating their fees to Trust funds.
Their fame has also spread round other railways, and quite a number have asked the group to visit and perform at their line. The National Railway Museum also hired the group to play there. A CD is now on sale, as are number of cassettes, all of which help raise funds for the Furness Railway Trust.
Consultants appointed by the Trust have confirmed the need for suitable accommodation to display and maintain the Trust's collection. The Options Analysis Report was commissioned at the end of 2002, to assess the Trust's best way forward given the prohibitive lack of space for further development at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. The consultants recommended that the collection should be brought under one roof in a sustainable way, and have examined a number of possible locations in the area. The Trust is now seeking funding for a feasibility study and business plan to be drawn up.
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