Spa Valley Railway

Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email enquiries@spavalleyrailway.co.uk

Coventry No.1 aka Thomas - ©C. Nye

Coventry No. 1 aka 'Thomas'

North British 0-6-0T, Built 1939
Works No. 24564
Wheel Arrangement - 0-6-0T
North British Loco, Hyde Park Works
Driving Wheel Diameter - 4ft 3in
Cylinders - 18in x 26in
Stephenson valve gear
Tractive Effort - 23,869lbs
Weight in working order - 50 tons
Boiler Pressure - 160 PSI

Built to a Neilson Reid design by the North British in 1939, the engine was part of an order for two identical engines for the Coltness Iron Co. Ltd. 24563 went to the company's Lanarkshire works, where it worked until it was scrapped in 1963. As for 'Coventry No.1', it went to a subsidiary company, Warwickshire Coal Co. Ltd, at Coventry Colliery. In 1947, ownership passed to the National Coal Board.

In 1962, the engine received a new boiler and was used as a stationary boiler during the winter of 1962/63, before being sent to Newdigate Colliery, near Bedworth. Here the engine proved popular with crews being free-steaming and powerful.

During 1965, the engine was on the move again, this time to Haunchwood Colliery and then Newdigate again in June 1967. Due to the introduction of diesels and smoke restrictions, the engine was little used and in December 1970, it was sold to the Quainton Railway Society, arriving at Quainton in January 1971, before entering service in 1973. In recent years, the engine has been seen in an alter ego as Thomas the Tank Engine.

Livery - Lined Light Blue.

Current Status - Occasionally visits the railway for our Days Out With Thomas events

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