BR ‘8P’ No. 71000 isn’t the only ‘Duke’ to have returned to steam in recent weeks, as Bagnall ‘Austerity’ 0 ‐ 6‐0ST Works No. 2746 has re-entered traffic at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
Named ‘The Duke’, the 1944-built locomotive underwent a successful hydraulic test on December 18, and a steam test and formal inspection on December 19. At the time of going to press, the ex-War Department locomotive (originally No. 75158) was expected to appear at the EVR’s ‘Winter Steam in the Valley’ gala on December 31/January 1, where it was due to steam alongside BR Standard ‘2MT’ No. 78018 – currently on loan from the Great Central Railway – and ‘4MT’ 2 ‐ 6‐4T No. 80080, as well as the EVR’s resident Andrew Barclay 0 ‐ 4‐0ST Works No. 2360 ‘Brian Harrison’.
Sold to the National Coal Board in 1962, No. 2746 ended its working days at the NCB’s Featherstone Colliery near Wakefield. It was purchased by a group of Peak Rail members in 1983 and moved to the line’s Buxton site, returning to steam there in 1988. It moved to the railway’s Darley Dale site in 1990 and, during its period in service, spent time disguised as ex-Cromford & High Peak Railway ‘J94’ No. 68012.
Last steamed in 2000, ‘The Duke’ – a name acquired in the pr
