The History and Restoration of Horden

The extensive restoration of 116-year-old steam locomotive Horden is nearing completion at the Tanfield Railway. Built by Andrew Barclay & Sons in Scotland, Horden was built new for Horden Collieries Ltd in County Durham, delivered there in 1904.

At that time, Horden colliery didn't have mainline rail access, so the locomotive was delivered to the nearby Shotton station and then moved a track panel at a time, in steam, along the road to Horden colliery - taking two days to complete! Another interesting story is when Horden collided with a British Railway's locomotive - Horden carried on for the rest of the day, the BR loco required a crane and repairs!

In the 1970s Horden was preserved and eventually moved to its current base at Marley Hill. After spending almost 40 years outside, a 7-year extensive restoration began. Thousands of hours of volunteer time and skill have gone in to project which has seen the locomotive returned back to its 1904 appearance.

Horden was within touching distance of completion when the coronavirus lockdown was announced which resulted in all work coming to a stop. Sadly one of the railway's stores was targetted by thieves during this time and a number of Horden's remaining parts were stolen. The cost of replacing these items is in the region of £20,000 and a huge amount of volunteer work will again need to be redone. To donate towards our Coronavirus Appeal and to help return Horden to steam, please visit - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-suppo...

Peter Weightman, the Project Leader for Horden's restoration, explains the history and restoration of the locomotive.