The North Staffordshire Railway Company has launched an appeal to fund repairs to return its flagship 4F steam locomotive to service in time for its centenary in 2027.

Locomotive no. 44422 transferred ownership from the ‘44422 Locomotive Company Ltd’ to the ‘North Staffordshire Railway Company (1978) Ltd’ (NSRC) on 23 January this year.

Since then, the company has been investigating options for returning the loco to steam.

The locomotive is one of only four remaining LMS 4Fs. Another was retired from service on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway two years ago.

They are known as ‘Stoke Scots’ because they were able to haul the more long-distance services across the region. They challenged the domination of tank engines at the local sheds.

44422 became the flagship of North Staffordshire’s railway preservation scheme, which is prioritising the continuation of this local legacy.

An important step was completed with the purchase and transfer of 44422 from Barry Scrapyard, with 44422 arriving at Cheddleton in 1977.

It first returned to action in 1992, visiting several railways before being withdrawn for overhaul.

It returned to service following a second overhaul 2004, but was withdrawn again in 2013 because of boiler issues.

A fast-track overhaul allowed it to appear at the Somerset and Dorset Fiftieth Anniversary of closure, but in 2018, the loco was withdrawn once more for a mechanical overhaul. Six years on, that overhaul has still not been carried out.

The next step is to get 44422 ready to steam for its one hundredth birthday in three years’ time. The locomotive was built at Derby Works and completed on 7 October 1927.

The NSRC has launched a joint project with the Churnet Valley Railway (1992) plc to achieve this. The locomotive arrived at the CVR in December 2019.

Number one priority is to get the locomotive’s wheels moving and carry out repairs identified by a mechanical survey.

The NSRC will be raising money to fund this work, while the CVR will oversee the physical engineering work.

Donations of any amount can be made over on their donations page here