To help with the restoration of London and North Eastern Railway J72 Class No. 69023 Joem, on 18th April Richard Proudman, Rail Brand Manager of Bachmann Europe Plc visited the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG) at their Hopetown Workshop in Darlington to present the group with models of Joem and a cheque for £504 to help with the completion of its overhaul.

An OO-gauge model of Joem was released by Bachmann in 2020 as a Limited Edition for the Bachmann Collectors Club, with just 504 models available for purchase exclusively by Club members.

£1 from each sale has been donated by Bachmann to help with the ongoing overhaul of the real locomotive, which is being returned to steam in time for the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.

Richard Proudman presented the cheque to John Hunt, Chairman of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group. Also present was Stephen Tooley, Bachmann’s Research & Development Manager, who handed over the first model to the Group’s Archivist, Chris Lawson.

Models were also provided to Group member Fred Ramshaw, who recently stood down as Joem’s long-serving caretaker and to Maureen Howe, who is the partner of the late Group member Allan Toomer whose bequest has gone a long way to funding the overhaul of Joem.

Also at the presentation were several volunteers who are working to return Joem to steam.

There are still some Bachmann Collectors Club Limited Edition models of Joem available to purchase, but as there are less than a dozen remaining, prospective buyers should act quickly.

More details are available over on the Bachmann website

A grant of £124,000 has recently been made by the National Heritage Memorial Fund the Group for the repairs to Joem’s boiler that are required before it can return to service.

Further details about the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group and the locomotives in its collection can be found online at www.nelpg.org.uk.

John Hunt said: “Can I take this opportunity to thank Bachmann for their generous support of the overhaul of Joem through the sales of their superb model of the locomotive which, with the presentation of this cheque today, has now exceeded £1,600. It is very much appreciated.

“I am pleased also that, with their help, we have been able to mark the contribution of Fred Ramshaw and the late Allan Toomer to our efforts to keep this historic, Darlington-built, North Eastern locomotive operating into the future for the public to benefit from the sight, sounds and smells of steam at work.

“We all look forward to seeing Joem back in action in 2025 as we celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway”.

Richard Proudman said: “NELPG helped us immensely during the development of this Bachmann Collectors Club model of Joem, even supplying paint samples to ensure the colour of our model was spot on, and we are delighted to reciprocate that help with this donation to help get Joem over the line.

“Today’s visit has been a long time coming as the pandemic halted our plans shortly after the model was released, but it has been a privilege to meet the NELPG team and see the amazing work going on to ensure the locomotive steams again in time for the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025”.