A soft spot for Joem

Designed by Wilson Worsdell and introduced in 1898 for the North Eastern Railway, the Class E1      0-6-0 tanks were later re-classified as Class J72 by the London and North Eastern Railway. 113 locomotives were built in a series of batches, the last of which was by British Railways, in 1951.

The sole survivor is No. 69023, one of the 1951 engines. She was given the name Joem by her new owner during her time at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, where she arrived for restoration in 1969. She was on duty in the early 1970s when we visited the K&WVR on a bright winter’s day with plenty of snow on the ground and is seen here running round her train at the Oxenhope terminus.

She moved to the North York Moors Railway in 1983, and after time as a static exhibit she was taken to Darlington for overhaul, in 2004. I had no idea before I arrived at the National Railway Museum’s outpost at Shildon in 2012, that the engine I would be driving for my one and only driving experience ever was none other than Joem, now without nameplates.

The staff at Whitegates College for young people with autism in Worksop [and also, briefly, those at Portland Training College for people with disabilities] were always the most generous of colleagues, especially when it came to recognising special birthdays and the other little landmarks in life - including my retirement. I’m very grateful to them for providing me with such a great day to remember.

Far from being retired, herself, Joem is currently at work on the Wensleydale Railway.