Sir Berkeley, built in Leeds in December 1890 by Manning, Wardle & Company, has been 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.
View Sir Berkeley's Restoration Diary courtesy of the Middleton Railway
Sir Berkeley has been fitted with a brand new boiler, built by Israel Newton of Bradford.
Sir Berkeley's original boiler will form a centre piece of the Middleton Railway's brand new Museum Building which has been largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Sir
Berkeley will be 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.
Sir Berkeley's chassis before overhaul:
Sir Berkeley's original boiler:
Note that the original boiler barrel is made up of four separate sections, riveted together:
Note that the boiler barrel is riveted on to a flanging ring which itself is riveted to the firebox - a practice long since made illegal.
"Bellerophon"
Bellerophon remains happily located at the Foxfield Railway Bellerophon now requires a full retube before further operation.
Bellerophon's "new" NCB green livery (see the photo)- has pleased most people - particularly by contrast with the previous livery, which had got rather dowdy over the past several years - but not everyone! Maybe we will go to "Haydock Black" livery next time. There is a slight problem here as well, as we don't have accurate and detailed information as to precisely what this is: so, if anyone can give us the full detail of this, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
"Lord Mayor"
Lord Mayor gets polished every so often (John Stephenson does this, below) Since this photo was taken, the locomotive has been repainted. Lord Mayor visited the National Railway Museum, York in October 2005.
