Former Steam Engines
Blackie: 0-6-0
One of the most iconic and best loved engines to have served at the lavender line has got to be 0-6-0 Hunslet Blackie. She started her life and Austerity designed loco built to a wartime standard using the minimal amount of materials with the maximum results. Built in at Leeds 1944 at the height of the Second World War she was immediately placed into service as a national coal board engine working the coal fields of the midlands. As well as these duties she was in charge of many war department trains which included heavy shunting duties and piloting throughout the war effort.
Although Blackie held the number 68012 during her stay at Isfield she was never classed as an LNER J94 on which she was based on. These locos in both performance and looks are almost identical and the number 68012 was given to Blackie along with the BR early crest in an effort to recreate a sister classmate of which held that number until she was scrapped in 1968. After working through the war and post war era she was involved in a works related accident in 1962 in which she was left in quite a state, although badly damaged a decision was made to rebuilt her due to her performance and by the summer of 1964 she was brought back to traffic and renumbered 3887 until she was privately purchased in 1976 by Phil Wainwright of whom took her to the great central railway where she stayed until 1979. At this point she was transferred to private hands once again and taken to the midland railway centre in Butterly where she stayed until the late 80’s.
By 1987 Mr David Milham who privately owned the lavender line was purchased and brought her to the railway to provide passenger duties alongside 0-4-0 Annie. Once arriving at Isfield she adopted the name Blackie which started out as an unofficial slang name, this later became an everyday name for her. In 1991 when Mr Milham sold the railway to the Lavender Line preservation society there was a number of rolling stock and locomotives that were up for grapes and so the newly formed society purchased Blackie to serve as the workhorse of the railway until further steam traction could be found.
Blackie was in a need of great repair when purchased by the society and therefore 3 years of overhauling was needed until the locomotive could be placed back into traffic, but with a small workforce and sheer determination she was officially placed back into traffic for the Lavender Line in the summer of 1995 and remained the sole working steam engine for the next 8 years, working without fault!
Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and by the spring of 2003 Blackie had succumbed to the ill fated corrosion problems and was taken out of traffic with a heavily corroded inner firebox. But even with this very sad news the railway pulled together and immediately started a full overhaul on her which included the removal of the tank, cab and the boiler for a full inspection. After a full assessment by the boiler inspector an estimated figure was formed which stood between, £40-60, 000. This left the railway with a very difficult decision to make, to either raise the money and complete the overhaul at Isfield or sell her to fund another steam engine with a boiler certificate. At the time the choice was made at the 2004 AGM to keep Blackie for a full overhaul at Isfield and send the boiler away to Keighley for the new firebox. By 2005 the boiler had been lifted and sent to Keighley boiler works and preparation started on the frames and motion.
Unfortunately just two years later after the overhaul had begun the funds of which the engine was reliant on was becoming less and less, along with mounting bills at the railway for hiring in other loco’s there was no more money for Blackies firebox project and a meeting was held in the summer of 2007 to decide if it was feasible or not to carry on with the overhaul. Later that day the sad news was declared that Blackie would be sold to gather funds towards a new loco. After all the pieces of Blackie were collected at the railway she was sold to the Mid Norfolk railway by the winter and taken by low loader to her new home where a full overhaul would be completed by the mid Norfolk railway. Watching Blackie take her final trip out of Isfield was a very sad affair for every member due to the memories she served with the railway from the late 80’s to 2003, although in the future its hoped she may return to Isfield one last time.
