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(1) Thomas

                           Thomas is an ex-North Eastern Railway 124 [LNER J76} class 0-6-0T, designed by Edward Fletcher for goods work, and eventually modified for passenger work, Thomas was the third member of the 1882 batch built at Darlington, being numbered 599 when in service,and he would be allocated to the MPD there for goods work. For roughly 32 years locomotive 599 would continue the pattern of working on various goods and shunting assignments until February 1st, 1914, when the locomotive would be involved in a brutal head on collision with a goods train, which had just come in from Sunderland, being completely wrecked from the impact. despite this, the North Eastern decided to repair him, (largely building a new body from scratch and placing 599's smokebox door on the body), although the process would fail to restore the last 32 years of memories and experiences 599 had gained, leaving him as a 'new' engine. for the NER to use.  However during the year 1915 the NWR requested an engine to help with the wartime workload increase, the NER decided to send 599 to the NWR at a moderate price, and 599 would arrive on July 16th, (the same date as the Battle of Manzikert), he would be set strait to work hauling supply trains from Vicarstown, to Tidmouth Harbor, and by 1918 the NWR finally purchased 599 in on November 15th, and he would be sent to the works sheds at Vicarstown where he was fitted with westinghouse air pumps, his old NER livery would be replaced with blue paint, red stripes around his bunker,  boiler, and side tanks, a large number 1 on his side tanks, and yellow lining surrounded his cab windows. For the next 2 years Thomas was allocated to Vicarstown MPD, but in 1922 he would be allocated to  Ffarquhar MPD to assist the old TK&F number 1 on running the branchline before taking it over, (though he would see a brief reallocation to Vicarstown when Colin I broke down before fully returning to the line in 1925), and the rest after that was history.


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