Steam loco hire availability?

No. I only report stuff and don't know what the Railway's or owners' plans are

 

Both austerities now OOS.

 

Tanfield have a working austerity which has gone out on hire before but I don't know what their operational

Richboro is the one you're thinking of or maybe Jennifer.

Tanfield have a working austerity which has gone out on hire before but I don't know what their operational requirements are for the year.

 

Foxfield do have a working Austerity, there is also a 16" Bagnall 0-6-0, a 14" Hawthorn, a 12" Kerr Stuart and the Beyer Peacock all with current boiler tickets, although not all are in traffic at present.

 

Darligtno RPs had thier Peckeett on Facebook as availalbe

 

Sounds like a particularly high number of railways needing to hire in smaller locos this year; is this a perfect storm of lots of locos being out of ticket with overhauls dragging due to Covid, or are the demands unusually high for another reason?

And to the OP, would the P&BR hire Jessie to you for the summer?

 

I doubt it, Empress has been withdrawn so Jessie is the only 0-6-0 workable at the moment.

 

So I've just seen, and they're hiring in a loco of their own for the summer.. possibly from Foxfield from what I gather though that's educated guesswork.

 

I've got an inkling that I know where, but I could well be wrong so won't say anything!

 

Without wishing to offend, what about Austerity Hunslet 3890 from Quainton? Seeing how they've just announced Swordfish has been purchased by one of their members, do they need another "big" loco?

 

No offence taken.

The S&CR didn't know she was being sold. We were told she was off on Tuesday for her Ten-yearly overhaul. Make of that what you will....

 

GWR 813 was indeed booked to visit the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway but has suffered a failure that is putting paid to this (see separate thread), so they may well be on the lookout for something to hire too!

 

The Mid-Suffolk Railway are also looking for a small 0-6-0 or -0-4-0 to cover for a short time at the start of the season in May/June.

 

Battlefield line are looking for help too....

 

One of the perils of not having your own locos. Is Sir Gomer still for sale?

 

I believe the plan is to overhaul Sir Gomer, get a couple of years use out of her, and then sell her as a working loco and use the funds to purchase something deemed a bit more suitable

 

All the lines in question have their own locos, they’re just under overhaul. I think COVID hit many lines’ overhaul schedules badly - overhaul time was extended but boiler tickets are not!

It’s a perfect storm really… for example, Middleton have Conway, which is an 0-6-0ST with a tractive effort equivalent to a class 2. It’s too big for their requirements but is an essential part of telling the story of Leeds engine building. I’m sure if they thought there was sufficient demand a few years’ hire (out of a 10 year ticket) they could have got it back in working order for that purpose, but you just can’t predict these things until they’re upon you.

 

I don't think Conway will be a candidate for overhaul, except cosmetically. You are right that covid has had an impact, certainly at Middleton. Our long term plan is to have four steam locos available and we generally achieve this. However, at the moment we are down to two (HL3860 and S8837) and the latter isn't really match fit for service, even though it went into service back in 2019. It isn't far off but finding time to sort it out (steaming problems) is proving difficult because we have been in catch up mode. I'm hoping that the two locos will soon be back to four as HE2387 is having its injectors overhauled at South Coast Steam (fingers crossed) and the boiler inspector has made positive soundings about extending 1310's boiler certificate to the end of the year, subject to a satisfactory exam. The loco came out of service on the 1st May after 11 years. After a long delay due to Covid MW1210 Sir Berkeley is nearing completion and its boiler passed its out of frames steam test today so that will be going back together as quickly as our volunteers can manage. Work has also started on overhauling HC1544 with the target of finishing it in 2024, in time for its centenary although it is not really needed until 2027. A tall order but achievable. Barring mishaps, that will give us our four locos until 2029. What to overhaul after HC1544 is the big question still to be answered.
As to hiring out locos, Middleton is not keen on doing so, except for very short periods, such as galas. Neither does it look to hire them in, preferring to be self-sufficient in this respect.