Rail enthusiasts' £1m hope to restore Teesdale locomotive

NEARLY £1million could be heading to a group of railway volunteers who plan to restore a Victorian locomotive.
The J21 65033 worked the Stainmore line between Barnard Castle and Kirkby Stephen. The engine cheated the scrapyard several times to become the only survivor of 201 locomotives of the J21 class.
The Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust launched an appeal for funding to restore the engine. A joint application was made with Stainmore Railway Company for money from Heritage Lottery Fund.
Mike Thompson, from the group which is based in Kirkby Stephen, said the stage two funding application has been submitted and a decision would be announced in March. He said: “The final application is for £956,999 and the total project, including the value of our volunteer labour, is £1.6million. We will have a site visit from the HLF case officer and at least one member of the committee that assesses the application, probably sometime in February, at which we have the opportunity to make our case for HLF support.
After that, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed. It has been a huge amount of effort, so let’s hope that early March brings the good news we all wish for.”
Legend has it that the J21 65033 took Winston Churchill to Barnard Caste station in 1944, where he disembarked on a top-secret mission to see troops training for D-Day.