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Monday 20th September 2021 Statfold Barn Railway, Tamworth, B79 0BU

A day of steam action at the impressive Statfold Barn Railway in Staffordshire with two superb locos

Join us for a day of narrow gauge steam action in the Midlands as we pay our first charter visit to the impressive Statfold Barn Railway in Staffordshire with two locomotives of very different types in steam

£69.00

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About this event

We are delighted to offer the chance to visit the impressive Statfold Barn Railway in Staffordshire for our first charter visit with two steam locomotives of very different types in action around the extensive site.

Statfold Barn Railway is the home of the Hunslet Engine Company. The enterprise was started by Graham and Carol Lee and is a superb engineering facility operating as Statfold Engineering Works Limited. Graham Lee originally sought and achieved the purchase, repatriation and restoration of the last steam locomotive to have been built by Hunslet in Leeds in 1971 from Indonesia, where it had spent its working life. Other locomotives were similarly repatriated and restored to an extremely high standard and the collection today boasts many locomotives of varying gauges (though predominantly of two foot gauge) along with an impressive collection of rolling stock and other railway ephemera. The collection is now owned by the Statfold Barn Railway Trust, and the site is open on selected open days during the year and for private events such as charters and weddings.

The railway runs through the grounds of Statfold Barn Farm with two stations and a balloon loop at the farthest end of the line. There is a plentiful supply of rolling stock to pair with locomotives during the day and we will vary train formations to give a variety of scenes.

Our event features two locomotives which will be in steam throughout the day. The first is a truly unusual design of United States origin, Ryam Sugar Mill No.1, an 0-4-0 built by the Davenport Locomotive & Manufacturing Corporation, Iowa (Works Number 1586) in 1918. Davenport was reorganised as the Davenport-Besler Corporation in 1933 and during World War II, made S100 tank locomotives for the USATC which were used in Africa and Europe. The company was purchased by the Canadian Locomotive Company in 1955 and the plant was closed a year later in 1956. The Ryam Sugar Factory Railway was owned by the Ryam Sugar Factory in Bahir, India where there were two narrow gauge lines used to transport cane from fields to factory, the most long-lived line not closing until 1994. The locomotive has been immaculately restored and is now a reliable member of the SBR working fleet.

We expect our second engine to be a very British locomotive, Hudswell Clarke-built No.19 (Works Number 1056) of 1914 vintage which spent much of its working life at Lautoka Sugar Mill in Fuji. The loco is small but has all the elegant features of a perfectly-formed saddle tank and was repatriated to the United Kingdom by Graham Lee from Fuji, returning to steam at Statfold in 2013. No.19 carries the attractive medium red livery of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited of Fuji. Again, there is no shortage of rolling stock to pair with the locomotive, so expect some attractive train formations to photograph.

Statfold Barn Railway is easy to reach, being located just a few miles from Junction 10 of the M42 motorway. It is home to an excellent collection of railway locomotives and rolling stock, and we hope you will wish to join us for our first charter visit to the line in September.

Currently all of our events will run in line with our Covid-19 policy that follows government guidelines. You can find our Covid-19 policy information page here.

Event requirements

Equipment

  • Spare batteries
  • Camera
  • Lenses
  • Camera protection - rain covers etc

Other things you should bring

  • Snacks

Knowledge

  • All levels welcome

Fitness

  • Low

Other essentials

  • Warm clothing
  • Wet weather gear

Event location