The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, no. 7406570. Registered office: Lime Tree Lodge, Thorpe Road, Mattersley, Doncaster, DN10 5ED
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Darjeeling Locomotive 19B
Just over a month ago I had the very great pleasure of writing to let you know that the design for our new boiler had been certified by BES in super-quick time. Since then the ‘new boiler’ team here – Andy, Fuzz, Will and myself – have been working away to arrange for it to actually be built.
I want to say that I’ve really enjoyed talking with some incredible professionals throughout the UK who do this sort of work for the heritage steam industry – whether that be people we have known for years at Boston Lodge, or people we simply ‘knew of’ at Israel Newton, Riley and Son, South Devon, or the Severn Valley Railway, among others. It gives me great confidence in the future of our hobby that these people put so much passion, sweat and tears into their work.
However, one bid stood out from the others, with a very competitive price and a timescale no other could match: the Ffestiniog Railway’s works at Boston Lodge. And I’m delighted to be able to tell you that this week I had the privilege of emailing Paul Lewin, Jon Whalley and Bob Yates on behalf of your Trustees to formally place an order for 19B’s new boiler. None of us are in any doubt that it will be a very high quality product indeed.
The offer was to deliver that boiler in one year from order; this is very significant for us, as we have some really interesting plans for 2026 (which we’ll tell you about when we’re able). And we also feel it is imperative that we give you, our Supporters who have made this possible, the chance to see her back in steam as soon as possible.
You’re probably wondering if we have enough money to pay for it. Thanks to you, some corporate fund-matching, HMRC’s Gift Aid scheme, and Statfold’s kind support for the overhaul, yes we do have enough to pay for the boiler and its certification. We don’t have enough yet to fully reassemble 19B with new smokebox etc., but we’re working hard on that so that we can see her working again as soon as that boiler is ready.
I would like, once again, to express my thanks to the DTLT team and the Ff&WHR team for making this happen.
Best regards,
Jeremy Davey
Chairman and Trustee
Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust
To donate, please follow the 19B Trust website link below,
Statfold Barn website is at
www.statfold.com
For details of the 19B trust visit
www.darjeelingtank.org.uk
Or view their Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/groups/darjeelingtank/
More pictures on our page 19B.
