Unseen Steam Locomotive “Newstead” to make debut at North Norfolk Railway

 

The North Norfolk Railway has today announced that Hunslet locomotive “Newstead” is set to make its public re-entry to service at the popular heritage line later this year. The engine was thought to have been scrapped in the 70’s, but was discovered hidden away at a Carmelite convent near Ware in 2016. After rescue in 2017, it has undergone a comprehensive 8-year overhaul.

 

“Newstead” was originally built for industrial use and rolled off the production line of the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds in 1929. The engine spent its life shunting coal wagons, first with South Kirby Featherstone & Hemsworth Collieries Ltd and then under the National Coal Board from 1947 before its official withdrawal from service in 1972.

 

Like many retired locomotives that had come before, “Newstead’s” future prospects looked rather dire until news reached the ears of Malcolm James Saul. Saul was a great lover of all things mechanical and had had long standing ambition to own a steam locomotive. Thus, the engine was saved for the first time and was looked after by Saul on a small plot of land on a nearby Carmelite convent where he tended the gardens, though his ambition of a private running line never came to fruition. He built a shed around the engine to help protect from the elements and, having planted poplar trees in front, the engine simply disappeared which led many to believe it had been scrapped.

 

After Saul’s passing in 2015, rumours circulated of the “lost” engine, in a long-forgotten shed next to the nunnery. Locomotive owner Alex Alder recalled the discovery, “I fully never expected to be driven down a Hertfordshire country lane, following a wild tip off about a lost engine. I could never have imagined taking tea and biscuits with one of Mother Superior at a convent, and hearing of ‘Malcolm’s engine’!”

 

He continued “I cannot describe that moment of anticipation, when trudging through the soggy leaves of the autumnal convent grounds, three of us were led through a gap in the corrugated iron of a small shed… I fully expected to see a rusty 5” gauge model. But there, quite impossibly, beneath a thin layer of dust, was the unmistakable lines of a 16” Hunslet. Thanks to the late Malcolm Saul, she had been well cared for and given an overhaul in the early 90’s. I gained a sense of debt toward Malcom Saul for saving and preserving the engine so well, and a sense of duty that his good care should be continued.”

 

“Restoring the engine has been a labour of love for the past 8 years and I am thrilled she will be joining the running fleet at the North Norfolk Railway – it was childhood visits to the line that sparked my interest in steam and engineering.”

 

North Norfolk Railway General Manager, Graham Hukins, commented “We are delighted to be welcoming “Newstead” to the railway. The engine is the sister to Ring Haw which has been part of our fleet for many years and is currently undergoing a major overhaul.

 

“Alex and his team have done an outstanding job in restoring ‘Newstead’ and we’re looking forward to her being part of our fleet, especially in our 50th Anniversary year where she will help conjure up the spirit of the early years of preservation when the service was handled entirely by small tank engines,” he added.

 

The engine’s is expected to return to service in spring or summer and will then form part of the railway’s steam fleet. The main 2025 season commences on 5 April with the railway open most days until 2 November; more details can be found on the line’s website www.nnrailway.co.uk. Advance booking is strongly recommended and passengers doing so receive a generous 15% discount on their fares.