Upon opening, the 3-foot gauge Southwold Railway took delivery of three 2-4-0T tank engines built by Sharp, Stewart & Co. Ltd – affectionately known as “Sharpies”. They were supplied on hire purchase and named as follows; No.1 Southwold, No.2 Halesworth and No.3 Blyth. [No.1 was returned as ‘surplus to requirements’ after a few years, only to be replaced a few years later with a 2-4-2T with the same name and number.]
Here at the Southwold Railway Trust we have constructed a replica of No.3 Blyth – the only original locomotive that was in service throughout the whole 50 years of the railway’s operation. Blyth is a key part of our Heritage Train Project to re-create a complete mixed train such as those running on the line upon opening in 1879.
As we were working from the 19th century general arrangement drawing, it was necessary to re-design this locomotive almost from first principles, proving an up-to-date 3D Solidworks CAD of the entire loco. A change to the boiler design, to allow us the widest possible range of options for the build, was also done.
A £300,000 contract for the construction of Blyth was placed with North Bay Engineering Services Ltd. who are based in Darlington, a town with a proud railway heritage. The boiler was the first component to be manufactured, followed by the rolling chassis, cylinders, motion etc.
Blyth was completed by the end of 2021 and delivered to Steamworks in the spring of 2022. She will run initially on our demonstration line in Southwold and in time on our goal of a revived railway linking Southwold and Halesworth in the future.
Originally funded by the ‘2-4-0 Club’ – we are now conscious that an overhaul will be due in a few years. In order for you to contribute towards this exciting project,just click below to find out how you can help us keep narrow gauge steam operating in Suffolk!
If you would like to help us maintain Blyth please click the Donate button below to send us a contribution through PayPal or, if you prefer, you can donate by making regular payments by Standing Order or Direct Debit. If you wish to donate using either of the two latter methods, please contact our Treasurer, Nick Evans, on info@southwoldrailway.co.uk