BUSY BEEHIVE BUTTERLEY!
Just because the Midland Railway at Butterley has not been running trains, it does not mean nothing has been happening – far from it.
It last ran a passenger train back inMarch 2020, immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the heritage sector to an unprecedented standstill as far as visitors were concerned. However, as one door firmly closed, another opened, and the opportunity was taken to concentrate on jobs that are impossible to do when running trains.
As with all heritage railways during lockdown, Butterley faced the realisation of having no income, along with regular monthly bills and project expenditure from the winter months.
Fortunately, the management received calls from various railway training companies offering support in the form of utilising the venue to run courses. These offers were a lifeline, bringing in much-needed survival revenue.
Then came the news of a successful grant application in September 2020 of £104,400 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. It was followed in October by a further grant of £149,156 from the Government’s £1.57-billion Culture Recovery Fund.
On the locomotive front, much has been happening, particularly regarding the imminent return to steam of one of the three LMS 3F ‘Jinty’ 0-6-0Ts which reside at Butterley. Two are under restoration but one is nearing completion and could be back in service this year.
LMS No. 16528 (BR 47445) – built by Hunslet in 1927 and which has never steamed in preservation – was the first of the three to begin the restoration process. However, when the first lockdown was
