Keighley Gasworks No 2

Photo credits: Tanfield Railway

NOBEL′S EXPLOSIVES No.2, Hawthorn Leslie & Co. Works No.2859

No.2 is an 0-4-0ST with 12 x 18″ outside cylinders and 3ft 0.5″ diameter driving wheels. She was built by R&W Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd at their Forth Banks Works in Newcastle upon Tyne. The locomotive was works number 2859, ex-works on 27/9/1911 to Keighley Corporation Gas Dept, Keighley Gas Works, West Riding of Yorkshire, where she was numbered 2.

About 1940, she was sold to the Ministry of Supply, Royal Ordnance Factory, Dumfries Factory, Drungans, Kirkcudbrightshire, via the dealers George Cohen, Sons & Co Ltd. The factory was later taken over by ICI Ltd, Nobel Division, who moved her to their Grangeston Factory, Girvan, Ayrshire in 1949. After 1954, they moved her to their Powfoot Factory, Annan, Dumfriesshire, where she was numbered No.2. Nobel’s Explosives later took over the factory and she arrived at Marley Hill in June 1976. First used in the 1980s, No.2 is popular with visitors to the Tanfield Railway as she has no back to the upper half of the cab and they can see what is happening on the footplate. Following withdrawal in 1997, No.2 was first stored in the 5-Road Shed at Marley Hill. Here, all boiler tubes were removed. In July 2005, she was placed on loan to Locomotion, Shildon, where she was on display until January 2006, after which she returned to storage in the 5-Road Shed at Marley Hill.

In 2009, No.2 was moved from the 5-Road Shed into the main shed at Marley Hill (Tanfield Railway) in order for overhaul to commence. This has been a comprehensive affair and has been carried out to a high standard. No.2 has received a new firebox, as well as a thorough mechanical overhaul. In September 2012, No.2 was steamed at Marley Hill for the first time following overhaul. The overhaul, including painting was completed in February 2013. Following numerous test runs, including hauling a passenger train for the first time in several years, No.2 was re-commissioned into regular service on the Tanfield Railway in March 2013.

Bio courtesy of the Tanfield Railway.

PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE VISIT OF KEIGHLEY GASWORKS NO 2 DURING JUNE 2021

Embsay Railway Returns Historic Locomotive to Yorkshire After Over 80 Years Away

The Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway is returning a 110-year-old locomotive to Yorkshire, where it worked for several decades, for the first time in over 80 years.

Gasworks No. 2 is a diminutive locomotive, built in 1911, for industrial use in nearby Keighley. It left Yorkshire for munitions work in Scotland at the height of the Second World War in 1940 before eventually being preserved at the Tanfield Railway near Newcastle. Returned to steam in 2013, the engine has proved to be a reliable performer at its home railway.

The locomotive will be used on June 12th, 19th and 26-27th. Tickets can be booked now by visiting www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk, though spaces are limited and are expected to be popular with rail fans from across the North of England. During the engine’s time at the line, it is expected to primarily operate on the line’s stately set of carriages, dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, making visits to the line even more special during this period.

Chairman of the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway Rob Shaw said “We are thrilled that No. 2 is visiting us for a few weeks in June. We exist as an educational charity and, by returning this historic locomotive to our part of the world for the first time in over 80 years, we deliver on this mandate”.

He continued “Although small in size, the locomotive will certainly catch eyes with its intricate livery”.

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Steam: Operational fleet

Steam: Pending restoration

Steam: Since departed