Lucie – the steam tram engine which started off life in Belgium and has now been restored to operational condition at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway – has arrived at Beamish for a short (and not previously announced) loan period. The loco arrived on 4th June 2025 and it is set to be used on the Colliery Railway during the “A Collier’s Life: At Work & Play” event on 5th and 6th July 2025.
Lucie – as its now known – was built in 1890 by John Cockeril Company for the East Brussels Tram Company and received the fleet number 8. It was used alongside sister 7 between Saint Jose Place and the Brussels Cemetery, Evere hauling passenger services, funeral trains and possibly the odd freight working. When the line was purchased by the SNCV they converted it to metre gauge and so Lucie was sold.
That is when it first became named Lucie with it being used by the Vielle Montage Mining Company. It later moved on to be used by a sugar factory in Silly. 1987 saw it move to the UK, with stays at Peak Rail and the Middleton Railway before it was acquired by the North Yorkshire Moor Railway’s Traction and Rolling Stock Manager who restored it and returned it to service on the NYMR.
Since returning to service it has mainly seen use at the NYMR but also spent a brief period at the East Lancashire Railway in 2023 and much more recently was seen at Locomotion during the May Half Term holidays. It can now count Beamish as another railway its visited with its arrival coming at the start of June, around a month for the main point of its visit.
Lucie will be used alongside Coffee Pot No. 1 during the “A Collier’s Life: At Work & Play” event on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July 2025.
Lucie – or to give her its full and official designation, Tramways de l’est de Bruxelles No. 8 – is seen here during its recent visit to Locomotion at Shildon.
A look inside the cab area of Lucie.
As well as Lucie, the NYMR sent some other locos to Shildon for the half term week. Here we see Lucie with LNER Q6 63395. (All Photographs by Trevor Hall, 27th May 2025)