Narrow Gauge
DARJEELING HIMALAYAN Railway ‘B’ class 0 ‐ 4‐0STT No. 19B will now remain in the UK, after being successfully secured at auction.
The 1888-built locomotive – the only DHR locomotive preserved outside India – was previously owned by Adrian Shooter but subsequently placed up for auction, along with the rest of Shooter’s railway collection, following his death in December last year (SR543). Some of the locomotive’s support crew formed the Darjeeling Himalayan Tank Trust with the aim of buying the locomotive to prevent it being sold overseas, and set about trying to raise £250,000 for the 2ft gauge engine (SR544).
At the auction at Shooter’s Oxfordshire home on June 21, the trust submitted the winning bid for No. 19B, paying £250,000, and also secured Shooter’s pair of replica DHR carriages, which sold for £20,000 and £15,000 respectively. Trust chairman Jeremy Davey said: “On behalf of the trust I would like to thank all those enthusiasts who have supported us in whatever way to help keep 19B here in the UK. Enormous thanks also go to the members of the trust and the team at Statfold Barn for making this happen in such a short time frame. We are committed to keeping the engine in front of the public and continuing Adrian Shooter’s legacy of using the engine to promote railway preservation and the wider importance of engineering skills.”
