THE Tanfield Railway chose the hottest weekend of the year so far to host its ever-popular Legends of Industry gala on June 17-18.
The event brought two former Stewarts & Lloyds locomotives back to the area where they were built for the first time.
Both Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns ‘56’ class 0-6-0ST No. 62 Ugly (7673/1950) and Hawthorn Leslie 0-6-0ST No. 21 Linda (3931/1938) had been part of the Corby-based Stewarts & Lloyds empire in their pre-preservation days (RM June), albeit within different divisions.
However, their Newcastle heritage made the pair an attractive proposition for Tanfield, which tries to ensure visiting locomotives have local links where possible.
Spa Valley Railway-based Ugly arrived in the North East on June 12 and instantly looked at home at Marley Hill; Linda arrived from the Ribble Steam Railway two days later.
Read more in the July 2017 issue of The RM – on sale now!