Tanfield Railway today, 11/7/2012

[Rlangham]

Before going to Beamish I went to the Tanfield Railway for the first time - only a few miles from the Beamish site and the engine shed area is open during the week. Can't believe i've never been, an absolutely fantastic site even on a static day, VERY atmospheric and cannot wait to return when back in the area and on a running day.



Kearsley 3, 1944 built BO-BO electric



E Borrows 0-4-0WT No 3 - the other two surviving Borrows Well Tanks are at the Ribble Steam Railway





M2 class 4-6-2 in 3 ft 6 inch gauge, built by Robert Stephenson's for the Tasmanian Government Railways



1913 BO-BO electric E9 from the Harton electric system, built by AEG of Germany. A very interesting design and early survivor, as can be seen it's body is low slung and has a very distinctive look to it





Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 'Beryl', formerly of the Battlefield Line (which is why it looked so familiar to me)



R&W Hawthorn 'Enterprise' 0-4-0ST



North Eastern Railway 818 7 compartment Composite carriage from 1903







Unusual wagon... anyone know what it's for?



Lambton & Hetton Collieries number 14 of 1914



'Twizell' of 1891, an attractive looking side tank design



Lambton & Hetton Colliers number 2 of 1911. Later on they shunted the locomotives on this road as No 2 is due to get it's boiler back soon



Hudswell Clarke 'Renishaw Ironworks No 6' of 1919



'Twizell' shunted outside



Armstrong Whitworth Diesel Electric 0-4-0DE of 1933



North Eastern Railway 172 eight compartment semi-elliptical roof Third class carriage from 1909

[52D]

Re your unusual wagon, I wonder if it worked underground as a conventional wagon then transported to a remote site ie a washery or landsale point via an aerial ropeway.
Only an educated guess mind you.

[Bryan]

Is the wagon for conveying the ironwork on it?
It looks like some sort of lifting appliance possibly for stonework.
When it is lifted it looks like it would clamp onto a very large block of stone.

I assume the Kearsley electric is from the Bolton area as I remember seeing similar locos when passing on the train from Southport to Manchester.

[Rlangham]

The history matches up (sorry, actually built 1936)

"to the Lancashire Electric Power Co Ltd, Kearsley Power Station, Manchester, where she joined a similar loco built by Hawthorn Leslie and later two more built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns, Newcastle. When the power industry was nationalised, her owners became the British Electricity Authority in 4/1948, Central Electricity Authority in 4/1955 and the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1/1958 and during this period she acquired the number 2 and was rebuilt as a 4w-4wWE/BE, overhead wire and battery electric powered loco at Kearsley.

After the Power Station closed in 1980, she and her sister loco 4 RSH Newcastle 7284, were sold about 1983, to Heysham Power Station, Lancashire, which was subsequently taken over by British Energy, Nuclear Electric Division. "