Paul Middleton, also known as Piglet, is the Head of Traction and Rolling Stock at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and is now celebrating after his 131-year-old Belgian steam tram was named the winner of the 2021 Heritage Railway Association's Steam Railway Magazine Award.
Tramways de l'Est de Bruxelles No. 8 ‘Lucie', originally built in 1890 in Liege, Belgium, won 40% of the votes.
Lucie originally worked in various places, such as zinc mines and sugar factories, and was restored by Dorothea Restorations in 1988 before running at Peak Rail.
The steam tram moved to the Middleton Railway in Leeds in 1995 before being withdrawn in 2000 and remaining in storage until 2017 when Piglet and his brother bought the steam tram and moved it to Grosmont.
“It was completely by chance, really,” says Piglet. “I'd actually gone over to Middleton Railway to look at another locomotive. While there, I saw Lucie and asked, ‘What's that strange thing then?' and they said: ‘You can buy it off us if you want'.”
He adds: “At first I knew nothing about its history but was blown away by this unique looking locomotive and I thought: ‘I would like to restore this locomotive as it would look amazing running along the line at the NYMR'.”
With restoration complete, Piglet has invited the Brussels Tram Museum to take Lucie over for their 40th Anniversary, the first time it has returned to its ‘birthplace' since 1897.
“It's a genuine surprise,” Piglet says. “There was some strong competition from other restoration projects, and I voted for Welsh Pony!”
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Aww…
This old gal looks happy to me!
Congratulations to Piglet And Lucie for winning your award, my vote must have counted. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻