Anniversary roundabout locomotive plan approved

The engine would celebrate the area's rail heritage

A locomotive is set to be installed in the centre of a roundabout as part of anniversary celebrations for local railways.

Middlesbrough Council has approved a plan by freight and port operator AV Dawson to place a 1959 engine in Middlehaven.

It will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) this year and upcoming milestones for Middlesbrough lines, AV Dawson said.

Highway officers said it would not pose a safety risk to vehicles approaching the roundabout, although more detailed reports are needed before it can actually be installed.

Once final approval is gained, the electric-diesel shunting locomotive would be put on the roundabout where Riverside Park Road meets Ironmasters Road, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Port railway made Middlesbrough'

AV Dawson, which is working with the council on the installation, said it would also celebrate other local railway anniversaries, such as the bicentenary of the Middlesbrough branch line in 2030 which connected the S&DR to the newly built port on the Tees.

It was originally Port Darlington before becoming the port of Middlesbrough and is currently owned and operated by AV Dawson.

"The extension of the railway and the port made Middlesbrough what it is today," an AV Dawson spokesman said, adding before then it had been a hamlet with just 25 residents.

The engine is a retired 1959 British Rail Class 08 diesel-electric shunting locomotive, of which fewer than 200 are still in existence today.

Planning officers said the scheme would be acceptable in terms of "visual amenity and public safety", while highway chiefs said "sightlines and suitable visibility" for vehicles using the roundabout would be "retained".

Before works can begin, the applicants need to complete a "traffic management and works methodology" study which would include details on the engine's future maintenance.