Name plates reunited with 'lost' steam engine

The plates have been sent to Spa Valley Railway to be reattached to the Newstead

A steam engine built in 1929 will have its original name plates reattached after they were found by auctioneers following a house clearance.

They belonged to a train called Newstead, which was decommissioned in the 1970s and was presumed to have been scrapped.

However, it had been saved by an enthusiast who had it restored and then built a small track and shed at a convent near his home, where it remained for almost 30 years.

It is now being restored as a heritage engine and will have its name plates reattached after they were found by Nottingham auctioneers Arthur Johnson and Sons.

Volunteers hope to have the locomotive back in steam in 2025

While listing items from the collection for sale at auction, Keith Butler realised having a set of plates was unusual.

His research discovered they belonged to Newstead, which is now located at the Spa Valley Railway in Kent.

The auctioneers - which this week had their long-term future at Nottingham’s former cattle market site secured - contacted the engine’s owners and a private sale has been agreed so the plates can be restored.

The usual fees taken by the auctioneers are being donated to The Railway Children, which supports vulnerable children worldwide.

The orignal brass name plates were last photographed attached to the engine in the 1950s

Mr Butler said: "A pair of plates is unusual, as they were normally sold off individually or scrapped alongside the engine.

"The owner couldn't believe it and was over the moon."

Newstead - a Hunslet 16-inch saddle tank design - was used to transport coal at Woolley Colliery, on the border of South and West Yorkshire, before being purchased by collector Malcolm Saul in the late 1970s.

It was stored in a specially-built shed in Cambridgeshire on land Mr Saul rented from a convent next door.

'An amazing story'

The engine was sent to Suffolk for a two-year refurbishment in the 1990s and then returned to its shed, where it remained.

On Mr Saul’s death in 2016, the Small Loco Group at Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough took on the engine and described it as "one of the biggest preservation stories of the 21st Century".

It was relocated to the Spa Valley Railway in 2018 and volunteers hope to have it back in steam early next year.

Spa Valley Railway’s Alex Alder said: “It’s an amazing story.

"All the steam engines were scrapped in the 60s, maybe early 70s the last survived.

"This particular one was presumed scrapped but about 10 years ago I got a message from somebody who said 'I’ve found a steam engine'."