'Austerity' Clag! Hunslet 0-6-0ST 'Cumbria' at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway - 29/08/2020

The Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway lies deep in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, just east of the market town of Skipton and north of the milling communities around the nearby Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. However, unlike it's close neighbour, the Embsay line has consistently relied on industrial tank engines as the backbone of their services. A handful of mainline and tender locomotives have visited now and again, but it is almost always up to the railway's fleet of plucky little side and saddle-tanks to provide the day-to-day operations.

Now beginning to get back on it's feet after four months in lockdown due to Covid-19 restrictions, the railway held it's 'Beer Festival' over the August Bank Holiday from 29th to 31st August. With a gazebo set up in the courtyard at Embsay station, and on-train bar and dining facilities available, the event was a welcome breath of fresh air from the strict, imposing regulations surrounding the dreaded virus, although entry was by ticket-only and face masks were required in stations.

The Hunslet 'Austerity' 0-6-0STs are the most numerous locomotive class to survive in Britain, with Embsay's locomotive department having no less than four on their books! Previous visits to the line have seen Southern Locomotives Ltd's 'Norman' in action, but with said engine bowing out of traffic in December 2017, 'Cumbria' was hired to fill the void. Owned by the Furness Railway Trust, 3794 spent the first thirty-five years of her preserved lines shuttling up and down the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, before moving to the Ribble Steam Railway for overhaul and eventual spot-hire to the Battlefield and Mid-Norfolk lines, ending up on long-term loan to Embsay.

In this video we see 'Cumbria' putting on quite the spectacle. With five BR MK1s in tow, including a heavy kitchen coach and an LNWR Director's Saloon from 1913, not to mention a mostly-uphill gradient from Bolton Abbey to Embsay, the locomotive certainly had a lot to contend with but took each journey in its stride. The only downside of my visit was the weather which consisted of pleasant patches of sunshine but coupled with a persistent breeze, which didn't exactly make panning particularly easy.

I hope you all enjoy the video. Special Thanks to the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway station staff for going the extra mile during my visit. Feel free to comment and subscribe!