The Bluebell Railway has launched an appeal for 92240 as they begin fundraising to bring the locomotive back to steam.

The 9F class is one of the most powerful steam locomotives that was built in Britain. 92240 was completed at Crewe Works in 1958, it worked heavy goods trains for British Rail until it was withdrawn in September 1965 and subsequently sold to Barry Scrapyard.

After 13 years, it was bought by a group of members from the Bluebell Railway’s Locomotive Department.

The restoration of No. 92240 took 13 years. It returned to steam in 1990, however, it only ran for a few years before several boiler stays were found to need replacement.

At this point, the boiler was re-certified for a further 10 years. It was then again withdrawn from service again in 2002, due to the poor condition of the tubes. It has been on display at Horstead Keynes Platform 1 since 2009.

With the 9F out of action for almost 18 years, a new approach is needed to get this locomotive running again.

The new approach is called Sustainable Funding:

• Sustainable funding is where the railway can predict income rather than relying on one-off donations.
• Regular donations of £15 a month or more will help restore No. 92240.
• Once No. 92240 has been restored, the fund will support the next overhaul.
• An end goal is to have the restoration of many locos at the Bluebell funded this way.

If you can help this appeal, please email Trevor Swainson or Andy Taylor.

You can also donate online via Virgin Money Giving. You donate via this page by clicking here.

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