The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is hosting its Autumn Steam Gala from Friday 28th September to Sunday 30th September and they have now announced that they have invited steam locomotives No. 2857 (from the Severn Valley Railway) and No. 6 ‘Douglas’ (from the Talyllyn Railway).

The NYMRs own Q6 locomotive is 100 years old and additional preserved locomotives like 2857 and 6 ‘Douglas’ of the same age will be joining in the celebration.

2857 will be operating alongside the Q6 on the intensive timetable.

No. 6 Douglas, which is painted in RAF blue to mark RAF 100, will travel on a flat wagon as part of the railway’s demonstration goods train.

A little history on these locomotives

2857 was built in 1918 at Swindon Works and was then delivered to Salisbury depot. It had a working life of 45 years before being withdrawn from service in 1963 after clocking up 1,2756,713 miles in service. The locomotive was purchased from Woodham Bros scrapyard in 1974 by the 2857 Society at a cost of £5,250 + VAT. The locomotive arrived at the Severn Valley Railway in 1975 in a convoy move by rail with GWR Mogul 7325.

No. 6 Douglas is famous for being in the Thomas the Tank Engine series and is a 0-4-0WT and was built in 1918 by Andrew Barclay & Co. Ltd for the Airservice Construction Corps. From 1921 until 1945, the locomotive worked at the RAF railway at Calshot Spit, in Southampton. After this period at Calshot, it was bought by Abelson & Co. in 1949 who presented it to the Talyllyn Railway in 1953. After overhaul and alteration to the Talyllyn’s 2ft 3in gauge, it entered its preserved life in 1954. The locomotive was named ‘Douglas’ at the donor’s request. It has been a popular sight on the narrow gauge railway. After running in red livery and under the guise of ‘Duncan’, for 2018, it has been repainted into RAF blue, with roundels and branded with ‘RAF 100′ to celebrate the RAF’s 100th birthday. This also coincides with Douglas’ 100th birthday – 2018 is a special year for Duncan!

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