Worth Valley Vintage

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is very fortunate in having the Vintage Carriages Trust collection of rolling stock based at Ingrow as this allows them to run occasional trains consisting of some beautifully restored vintage rolling stock and, as you will hear in these recordings, they often have vintage locomotives to match.

On 12th July 1986 I visited the Worth Valley to ride behind the then recently restored LNWR 0-6-2T Coal Tank 1054, which was working special trains that evening.
With just three vintage coaches behind the loco and performance being somewhat leisurely noise was at a minimum on the journey up from Keighley. Quite disappointing in view of the fact that these trains attracted a premium fare and were aimed at the enthusiast market!
However, when we reached Oakworth all the passengers detrained while the loco performed two runs past proving that it certainly could produce some noise when required.
This recording is of the first of these.

With all the passengers back on board 1054 departs from Oakworth for the short run up to Haworth.
Our hopes that the noise level produced during the two runs past would be maintained proved unfounded and progress continued to be leisurely!

A week later on 19th July 1986 the Coal Tank was in use once again on a shuttle service between Haworth and Oxenhope so I went out to try for some lineside recordings of the loco.
1054 is heard passing in this recording made between Haworth and Oxenhope.

Normally based at Quainton Road the Metropolitan Railway 0-4-4T No. 1 visited the railway in 1994 and was used during the Spring Enthusiast Weekend appropriately hauling two Metropolitan Railway coaches between Keighley and Ingrow.
This 1898 veteran is heard in this recording departing from Keighley on 17th April.

One of the oldest locos to visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway was the Furness Railway 0-4-0 No. 20 from the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway.
This 1863 veteran was in use on 2 coach vintage trains between Keighley and Ingrow during the Enthusiast Weekend held on the railway on the 12/13th May 2000.
In this recording No. 20 is heard departing from Keighley.

The Autumn 2003 Enthusiast Weekend saw the ex Lancashire & Yorkshire 2F 0-6-0 52044 in use.
During the morning of 12th October 2003 this loco worked a two coach vintage train from Keighley to Oxenhope and sounded like this arriving at and departing from Oakworth.

The Veteran Haydock Foundry 0-6-0 well tank 'Bellerophon' at that time in it's 111th year, which had returned to action earlier in 1985, was working trains on 27th December.
Because of earlier steaming problems and the need to have more than two coaches available an assisting engine had been provided.
During the course of the day this loco, Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 No. 31, had mechanical problems. Not to put too fine a point on it, something quite important dropped off!
This meant that, after 31 had been removed at Haworth and shunted off into Haworth Yard 'Bellerophon' had to continue from there to Oxenhope unassisted and is heard in this recording departing from Haworth at the head of three coaches and a van. No problem!

New Years Eve 1985 provided the final recording opportunity for the year with 'Bellerophon' still working trains on the railway. In this recording the 111 year old loco is heard on just two coaches departing from Damems and passing non-stop through the loop.