NBLPG acquires Sappi Saiccor 19D

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John Ashworth
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NBLPG acquires Sappi Saiccor 19D

Post by John Ashworth »

Not yet abroad, but soon to be so...
Ken Livermore wrote:Further to the article by Geoff Courtney in last September’s ‘Heritage Railway’ magazine, I am delighted to tell you that our Group has now acquired the last working SAR Class 19D 4-8-2 at the Sappi Saiccor pulp mill railway for preservation. The locomotive has been donated to us free of charge as a goodwill gesture by the Sappi Management at no cost to ourselves.

Brief details of the locomotive are as follows : ex SAR No 2767, RSH Works No 7280 of 1947, current number ‘Saiccor No 3’. Some photos of the engine are attached.

This news may come as a bit of a surprise to some people as the locomotive was built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns in Darlington rather than by NBL. However, this particular engine has great significance as, when it was taken out of service in August last year, it was one of the last conventional British steam locomotives in regular service anywhere in the World.

Saiccor No 3 only missed being a North British engine by just a few months as it was the third from last to be built by RSH in 1947, the following batch of 50 19D’s being constructed by NBL in 1948. Sir Nigel Gresley once described the 19D’s as ‘one of the best steam locomotive designs the World has ever seen’ so the chance for us to acquire one in full working order was too good an opportunity to miss.

As mentioned in the Heritage Railway article, the preservation of No 3 has come about due to an excellent working relationship that was developed with Sappi by small number of our Members during regular visits to the line over the last 25 years. We are now planning to work with local groups in the Darlington area to seek Lottery Funding return the locomotive to its birthplace for display.

Some of our major donors have very kindly agreed to the the temporary use of some existing funding to enable us to kick start the 19D shipping appeal but please be assured that general funds already donated by individual Members for current projects such as the Dubs Tank and the Hendrie Class 1 will continue to be ‘ring-fenced’ for these specific locomotives. Funding for the Engine 61662 Appeal is entirely separate from NBL projects and will be unaffected. Donations towards the cost of moving the 19D will of course be welcomed and full details of the new appeal will follow in due course.

In the meantime, please be assured that our commitment to preserving North British locomotives remains unchanged. Thank you all for your continued support.

Yours Sincerely, Ken

Ken Livermore

Hon Secretary, NBL Preservation Group
Attachments
SAR 19D 2767  Umkomaas Mill).JPG
SAR 19D 2767 Umkomaas Mill).JPG (94.94 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
SAR 19D 2767 (RSH) Sappi No. 3 436749_n.jpg
SAR 19D 2767 (RSH) Sappi No. 3 436749_n.jpg (79.97 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
CNV00009.JPG
CNV00009.JPG (117.93 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
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