BarclayEclass0-4-0WTGlydercoupled toafreighttrainonthe2ftgaugecolliery
line at BeamishMuseumonJune27.PAULJARMANGlyderraisesaheadofsteamoutside theBeamishpi theadbuildingsonJune19,
shortlybeforeitscomebackevent.PAULJARMANGlyderandfellowformerDurha mWaterBoardlocomotiveOgweninJanuary
2012,shortlybeforeleavingtheshedwhere they werestoredfor47 yearsint he
USA.BEAMISHAlsomakingitsBeamishdebutat theOldKingCoaleventwasSevernValley
Railway-basedPortTalbotRailway/G WR 0-6-0STNo.813,whichisvisi tingRowley
stationforthesummer. Itfirstcametotheregion85 yearsagowhenitwa ssold
second-handto BackworthColliery.MATTDITCH.
Repatriated Glyder makes
debutinhomecounty
ByRobin JonesFORMERDurh amWaterBoardBarcl ay
Eclass0-4-0WTGlyder–which ended
up on the famousPenrhynQuarryscrap
line in 1965–has returned to steam in
its‘home’countyfollowing repatriation
from the USA sixyears ago.
No.1994of1931, which was
originally namedGrey,made its debut
followingrestor ation at Beamish
Museum’s June 26-30 OldKing Coal
even t, whichrecalled thecoal mining
heritage of the North East.
Originally builtforthe board’s
reservoir construction projectat
Burnhope,inWeardale,its design
boreastrikingresemblancetot he
standardlocomotivedesignsby the
German manufacturer,Orenstein &
Koppel,with ahigh-pitched boiler
satontop of (rather than within) the
frames,which themselvescontained
the water tanks.
It wasrenamedGlyderwhen itwas
sold second-handto the Penrhyn
Quarryfor £60 in 1938.That year it had
anew fireboxfitted and in January
1939 wasregauged.Following its
move to northWales,itw as originallyintendedto work at Penrhynona
schemeto exte nd the LMS standard
gaugeBethesda branchto the
PenrhynQuarryworkshops and
sidingsat Coed-y-Parc. However,
the schemewasshelved with the
outbreak of theSecond WorldWar.
Storedat Port Penrhynuntil 1952
when itwasfinallycommissionedfor
the 2ftgaugePenrhynRailway,still,
it is believed,wearing itswater board
grey livery,Glyderwasrepaintedin
1957, and again (or in part) in 1965.It
wasthe last locomotiveoverhauledat
the Coed-y-Parc workshops.
On January4,1965, BBC’sTonight
Programmefeaturedareport on the
demise of the steam locomotives in
PenrhynQuarryand theirreplacement
by diesels.
It wasseen by US Americanantique
dealer CBArnettewho wasstaying
in Glasgow. Although hewasnot a
railway enthusiast,hes aw abusiness
opportunityand immediately went to
Penrhynand boughtsix locomotives
forexportback to the Stat es,ath ugely
inflatedpricesfor ex port,sadly setting
the value forUKpreservationists who
want ed to followsuit.Thesix quarry engines,Nesta,Cegin,
Winifred,Marchlin,Ogwen–which
also worked forthe water board–
andGlyderwere loadedontotheSS
ManchesterProgressand on July 23,
1965 set sailforNorfolk,Virginia.
They wereauctioned inTennessee
andWinifred,OgwenandGlyderwere
boughtbybusinessmanTony Hulman,
who want ed to establishatransport
museum inTerreHaute,Indiana called
the EarlyWheels Museum.
Theproject did not take off and
GlyderandOgwen(Avo nside 0-4-0ST
No.2066 of 1933 which had originally
been namedDurham)weredry stored
in astable inafores tonthe family
estate inTerreHaute,80miles west
of Indianapolis.
As reportedini ssue 162, inFebruary
2012 adeal brokeredby locomotive
dealerMartyn Ashworth wasstruck
between the directors of theMotorSpeedway Museum and Bala Lake
Railway chairman Julian Birley and
industrial locomotiverestorer Graham
Morrisfor therepatriation ofGlyder,
Ogwenand Quarry Hunslet0-4-0ST
No.364 of 1885Winifred.Glyderwasin
the samecondition as when it had left
Snowdonia in 1965.
GlyderandOgwenarrived at
ThamesportinE ssexand were
unloaded onMay1,2 012 and takento
their new homeat BeamishMuseum.
Winifredhad arrivedatSouthampton
DocksonApril 19 andwas delivered
to the Bala LakeRailway ninedays
later. There, it wasrestored in the
line’s ownworkshops andreturnedto
steam in 2015.
Ogwenwassubsequently moved
fromBeamishto aprivatesitewhere
restor ation iswell advanced and has
been earmarkedforareturntosteam
in 2020.38 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway
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