This film tells the story of Furness Railway Number 20 which is Britain’s oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive and which is the flagship locomotive of the Furness Railway Trust. The Furness Railway Trust has its engineering base in Preston at the home of the Ribble Steam Railway where Number 20 was filmed in steam during March and April 2022.
Number 20 was built in 1863 by Sharp Stewart & Co. of Manchester as one of a batch of eight 0-4-0 tender locomotives supplied to the Furness Railway Company between 1863 and 1866. The rapid growth of traffic on the Furness Railway in the 1860s meant that this class of small four wheeled engines soon became obsolete and in 1870 F.R. Nos. 17, 18, 19 and 20 were sold to the Barrow Haematite Steel Co. Numbers 25 and 26 followed them to the steelworks in 1873.
Number 20 continued working there until retirement in 1960 when diesel locomotives were introduced. She thus completed 90 years service at the steelworks.
The good news is that Furness Railway Number 25 has also survived and has recently been acquired by the trust and is awaiting restoration.
As well as showing the wonderful sight of Number 20 in steam in early 2022 this film tells the story of the years from 1863 through to 1960 and the donation of Number 20 to a Barrow school as a playground toy on retirement. We then follow its journey from there over many years to be purchased and restored to its current beautiful condition by the Furness Railway Trust.
And there also is a mysterious case of mistaken identity which was only solved during restoration!
I must acknowledge the trust website and the book 'The Great Survivor - The Story of the Rebuilding of a Vintage Furness Railway Engine' by Tim Owen, published by The Cumbrian Railways Association and The Furness Railway Trust, which tells the FULL story of Furness Railway Number 20.
www.furnessrailwaytrust.org.uk
ribblesteam.org.uk