Back in May, Crich Tramway Village’s steam tram engine John Bull made what was expected to be a brief trip away from the museum – but it turned out that it would be away for very nearly six months! It has now returned to Crich though with its being delivered back on Wednesday 16th November.
The tram engine – built in 1885 for the New South Wales Government by the Beyer Peacock works – had been one of the star exhibits at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway’s Beyer Bash event, which took place between 20th and 22nd May. It had been transported from Crich shortly before the event where it met with other products of the Beyer works, including a rare appearance off the Isle of Man by No. 8 Fenella.
After the event ended it had been expected that it would return straight away to Crich but other events conspired to prevent this. This was around the time that the museum was closed due to safety concerns over the overhead and so it wasn’t easy to gain access to the depots in order to put John Bull back on display. It instead moved to off-site storage waiting for an opportunity to be transported back home once more.
This was finally found on 16th November with regular Crich tram transported, Scotts Heavy Haulage again employed to move John Bull. Unloading took place on the street in front of The Red Lion before the engine was moved into the depots, instead of an immediate return to the Great Exhibition Hall.
Crich Tramway Village is currently closed for the winter and is scheduled to reopen to the public on Saturday 11th March 2023.