Our unique locomotive is now over 130 years old, having been built by the North Eastern Railway as one of its C class compounds in 1889. It spent the first 34 years of its life in green livery as NER No. 876, and was rebuilt as a C1 class 'simple' locomotive in 1908. It retained its number after passing into the hands of the LNER in 1923, and survived potential scrapping in the 1940s due to a shortage of motive power following the outbreak of war. Thankfully, after being taken out of traffic in 1962 and dumped at Darlington for six years, it was preserved at Beamish Museum, but has not steamed for over three decades. After over seven decades in regular service and many years of open air storage, the locomotive needs extensive work to return it to working order.

 

In particular, we need to raise £50,000 to construct a new tender. Both the tank, which forms the main part of the superstructure, and the chassis are heavily corroded and are beyond repair, so our specialist contractor will need to make an exact replica of the original tender, using as many salvageable parts as possible. We have launched the '1889 Patrons' scheme, named after the year of the locomotive's construction, to help raise these very necessary funds so that we can return the 'J21' to steam within the next two to three years.

 

The scheme requires Patrons to donate the sum of £18.89 per month for a minimum of 12 months. In return for this, Patrons will receive a Supporters' pin badge, monthly newsletters, invitations to our annual Supporters' Day and a pair of tickets for the launch event for the 'J21's' return to steam.

 

To become an 1889 Patron, you can click on the button below and pay via PayPal, using a PayPal account or debit/credit card; simply tick the 'Subscription' option to make a regular monthly payment. Alternatively, you can set up a standing order by downloading our standing order form and completing and posting your application to us.