LMS No. 5428 ‘Eric Treacy’ was in action on Sunday 5 November, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its arrival at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).

The locomotive arrived during NYMR’s first year, so it is a double golden jubilee.

LMS No. 5428 ‘Eric Treacy’ first left Tyseley Locomotive Works on 3 November 1973.

It stopped in York on its way to the NYMR, where it was joined by the ex-GNR Class J13 (LNER Class J52) No. 1247 from the National Collection. They arrived on the NYMR together on 5 November 1973, and both have been there ever since.

John Hunt, who is a longstanding volunteer at the NYMR, was one of a group who went to Tyseley in 1973 to repair the locomotive ready for its journey to NYMR’s Grosmont engine shed. John recalls, “‘I can’t believe it’s been 50 years! On the day of the move, it was shunted in the yard by Flying Scotsman, and I can remember it was awfully foggy on the way to York.

‘Eric’ was then pulled by a class 37 to for its final leg of the journey where there was much excitement at Grosmont as it arrived on NYMR metals, where it has remained for the last 50 years and an icon in the history of the NYMR.”

John, now aged 78, started at the NYMR in February 1969 as a photographer.  The following year, he became a loco cleaner, and then qualified as a fireman in September 1973. In August 1997, John became a fireman passed to drive, and in April 2004 qualified to drive diesels.

The locomotive is named after photographer Eric Treacy, who took this photograph of the Flying Scotsman, the famous locomotive that shunted the loco that would be named after Eric!

For more information about NYMR events, click here.

A print of ‘Eric Treacy’ is available from the RailAdvent shop, and RailAdvent Plus members can watch a video featuring the loco