Fife railway enthusiasts to bring UK’s oldest industrial locomotive back into use

A locomotive which was the oldest in industrial use in the UK will be back on the tracks next year after being gifted to Fife railway enthusiasts.

The Shed47 Railway Restoration Group based at Lathalmond have been gifted two locomotives from Babcock International at Rosyth dockyard, one of which is believed to have been the oldest of its kind still in use before it was retired nine years ago.

Despite dating back to 1945, the little green engine was still working when the restoration group tried to get it started.

The other locomotive, a blue engine bearing the words Babcock Rail, was built around 1952.

Both engines were hauled onto lorries and taken to the restoration group’s base at Lathalmond, where they will be restored in time for the opening of the railway museum, which is in the grounds of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, at Easter.

Grant Robertson, secretary of the restoration group, said it was a historic journey for the two engines.

“Lathalmond Railway Museum used to be a Royal Navy stores depot,” he said.

“It was a depot for Rosyth dockyard until 1971, and there would have been trains running between Lathalmond and Rosyth.

“Forty-eight years after the last train ran from Rosyth to Lathalmond, the last ever trains have been brought from Rosyth to Lathalmond, albeit by lorry.”

Mr Robertson thanked Williamson Haulage in Cowdenbeath for transporting the locomotives.

The green engine, which Mr Robertson said started up after the second attempt, was owned by the Ministry of Defence and was used at various depots in England before arriving at Rosyth in 1995.

He said the blue locomotive, originally built for the ICI plant in Dumfries, was quite an unusual model and only a few existed.

“It’s something very different. Not many preservation railways have a locomotive of that type,” said Mr Robertson.

He added: “A lot of supplies for the dockyard used to come in by train. They haven’t done so for a long time now.

“These were the last two on site.

“The little green one was the oldest locomotive in industrial use in the UK.

“We’re going to use the close season to do lots of work on them and get them, hopefully, up and running for April.”

The restoration group has also just launched an online campaign on the Crowdfunder website to raise money to refurbish an old National Coal Board steam engine.