The Carmyllie Pilot has woken from her slumber for the first time in 43 years following a successful steam test.
The boiler of the 46464 was last steamed in 1979 and she could now return to the tracks by the end of 2022 before pulling trains in Speyside for the 2023 season.
The 46464 was built by British Rail and started life in Crewe in 1950 before she was allocated to the Scottish Region of British Railways.
She was based at Dundee Tay Bridge shed but could be found, on many occasions, working the Carmyllie goods service between Elliot Junction and Redford.
It was through this that she became known to the locals as the Carmyllie Pilot.
Triumph and tragedy
On August 2 1952 she hauled the very last passenger train from Brechin to Forfar, when she had to stand in at the last minute to replace another failed engine.
She was briefly allocated to Kittybrewster in 1955 and worked on the Buchan line to Peterhead, Fraserburgh and St Combs, deputising for the regular engine.
She hauled the last train to run over the Carmyllie branch line on May 19 1965 before being withdrawn in August 1966 when steam was replaced by diesel.
She was saved from scrap by railway enthusiast Ian Fraser from Arbroath who overcame opposition from the council and built an engine shed in his garden.
She was presented to Dundee Corporation after purchase.
The intention had been to put the engine on display but she was stored in a shed in East Dock Street between 1967 and 1975 before she hauled the first passenger service on the newly reopened Strathspey Railway between Aviemore and Boat of Garten in July 1978.
The locomotive was restored to Mr Fraser’s ownership and left the Strathspey Railway on November 30 1989 to return to Brechin.
Mr Fraser died in 1992.
The Carmyllie Pilot Company Ltd was set up by Robin Taylor, John Yule, Max Maxwell, Ian Hopley and Iain Smith and took ownership of 46464 in July 2000.
In March 2002 the engine was dismantled and moved from the Caledonian Railway in Brechin to a private site at Bridge of Dun for a thorough overhaul.
Work to restore the locomotive has included rebuilding the lower half of the tender.
One of the largest jobs carried out on site was the dismantling work done on the boiler prior to it being sent to Stockton on Tees for further extensive repairs in 2019.
A major milestone for the team
In February 2020 the Carmyllie Pilot moved to the Strathspey Railway where both the locomotive and tender were put back on its wheels after 21 years.
Iain broke down the steam test further.
He said: “The work on the boiler required specialist repairs, and thanks to the sterling work by Northern Steam Engineering Ltd in Stockton-on-Tees, 46464 has now had a fire lit and the boiler returned to steam.
“This is a major milestone for our small, dedicated team, who have been working on the locomotive for over 22 years.
“My emotions were running high and also for the rest of the team.
“It was heavy rain when we arrived that lasted most of the day, however we were not going to let this dampen our spirits.
“For myself, and the other shareholders it was truly a momentous day.
“We and the lads at the workshop felt a great sense of pride, to once more see steam being emitted from her safety valves and heat in the once cold and lifeless boiler.
“We had great confidence in the work that Northern Steam had done.
“The boiler had already proved through her hydraulic test that nothing major was likely to go wrong and that the steam test proved that all was good.
“It was also historic because the boiler was last steamed in 1979.
“The boiler is now 71 years old and is still in good condition, the repairs just performed will see her back in action for hopefully for the next 10 years and more.”
There is still a large amount of work ahead putting all the parts back on the locomotive along with some additional work to do connected with the boiler.
On the chassis of the engine many hundreds of bits have now been repaired and refurbished and refitted already.
Iain said: “This will continue with the refitting of the pistons and coupling rods to give us what is known as a rolling chassis.
“Once at this stage we will then return the boiler into the frames and refit all the parts that can only go on once the boiler and frames are reunited.”
What about the long-term future?
Iain added: “It is hoped that towards the end of the current year, 46464 will be once more ready to run. There is still a large amount to do before we reach that stage, this will then be followed up by a period of ‘running in’ as it is known, where any small faults and niggles can be sorted out before she returns to full operating duties.
“We have set up an agreement with the Strathspey Railway that 46464 will be based there for at least the next 10 years.
“She will be working alongside their other steam locomotives based there which includes a locomotive of the same type as ours and it is hoped that we could possibly renumber their loco to 46463 and run them double-headed on a special – just like what used to happen in 46464’s British Railway glory days!”
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