Poppy Line 9F Bows Out

The North Norfolk Railway’s 9F No. 92203 “Black Prince” has been withdrawn from traffic at the end of her “ten-year” boiler ticket. The popular 2-10-0 entered service on the line in 2014 following an extensive overhaul and has been a regular performer since, covering almost 35,000 miles over the last decade.

No. 92203 was built at Swindon in 1959 and enjoyed a working life of just eight years with British Railways before being withdrawn in November 1967.  NNR Interim General Manager, Graham Hukins explained “There was such a desire to move away from ‘old fashioned’ steam engines that many were set aside after scandalously short careers. Fortunately 92203 was purchased by wildlife artist and railway enthusiast, David Shepherd, and it was he that named the engine Black Prince.”

The locomotive had spells at the Longmoor Military Railway, Eastleigh Depot the East Somerset Railway and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway before moving to Norfolk. In September 1982 it worked the heaviest steam-hauled freight train in Britain, 2,198 tonnes, at Foster Yeoman’s Tor Works.

The locomotive was side-lined in December and thorough investigations by the NNR’s Engineering Team have revealed a leak in the main internal steam pipe. The leak was traced to the point where the pipe is expanded into the smokebox tubeplate behind the superheater header. Graham commented “Unfortunately the location of the fault and the amount of work needed means it is not possible to carry out a cost-effective repair given the limited use possible before the boiler ticket expires in early May.”

NNR services will run on Sundays in March and then most days between April and October. Trains run through 5½ miles of wonderful scenery between the Victorian resort of Sheringham and the Georgian town of Holt. Full details and timetables can be found at www.nnrailway.co.uk/opening-dates/ and passengers booking online in advance receive a generous discount.