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York No. 1York No. 1 was built by the Yorkshire Engine Company in 1949, bearing their works number 2474. It was built to one of their standard designs and is an 0-4-0 saddle tank engine with 16 inch cylinders, and was formerly working for the National Coal Board near Barnsley at South Kirby Colliery. When it arrived on the railway it was pressed into service and ran a lot of the early trains, as well as performing shunting work. It was well liked, and was the best of the 0-4-0's on the line - the others being Annie, 22 and BEA No. 2.
The locomotive was built to a typical Yorkshire Engine Co. design for a steelworks loco - fortunately its working at a colliery ensured its survival as steelworks engines are in very rough - Dorothy is a good example of this. This is now a very rare loco as only 2 other Y. E. Co. engines exist in preservation - both 0-6-0ST's. Since it arrived on the railway it has run in two different guises - York No. 1 and also 'City Link', after the sponsors of its last overhaul. In the first picture it is seen undergoing vacuum brake trials near Bow Bridge Loop, the next two show York shunting Joem after its attempted steaming, as well as York in Embsay station on the vacuum trials, alongside No. 22 in platform 2. The final photo is the earliest, showing York with the NER directors saloon on the 'extension' towards Skibeden. The locomotive is now stored out of service awaiting an overhaul before it can run again. It is thought to be in pretty good condition, so shouldn't take too much work, although there is no indication when this will occur. A cosmetic overhaul should take place shortly so that it can be included in the Yorkshire Industrial Locomotive Museum. More photos of York at Embsay
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