On Saturday 15th April at an event at the Middleton Railway in Leeds, our locomotive Sir Berkeley was rededicated and placed back into traffic after its recent overhaul.
The rededication included speeches by Anthony Coulls of the National Railway Museum, who had suggested some time ago that the engine should be painted in its original contractor’s livery. In rededicating Sir Berkeley, mainly to the memory of the navvies who built the railways, Anthony also emphasised the importance of recognising that often in an unsung way small steam engines used to carry out great work every day. Trevor England, Chairman of VCT, also congratulated Middleton Chief Mechanical Engineer Steve Roberts and his team on a successful overhaul of the engine.
A video of the Relaunch is available to watch on youtube.com on the Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels page.
Anthony Coulls, Roger Crombleholme, Ian Smith and Trevor England – Photo: Tom Marshall