''Annie'' is a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

that operates on the

Groudle Glen Railway The Groudle Glen Railway ( Manx: ''Raad Yiarn Glion Ghroudal'') is a narrow gauge railway near Onchan in the Isle of Man, on the boundary of Onchan and Lonan, which is owned and operated by a small group of enthusiastic volunteers and oper ...

on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Design

The replica ''Annie'' was built by Richard Booth to the design of a Bagnall class 'E' locomotive named ''Annie'' which was built in 1911 and shipped to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to operate the

Gentle Annie Tramway The Gentle Annie Tramway or Gisborne Borough Council’s Gentle Annie Metal Supply Tramway was a narrow gauge railway which formerly ran from Gisborne, New Zealand to the Gentle Annie quarry, a distance of . The tramway was built in 1911 by the Gi ...

near Gisborne. The original ''Annie'' later ended up at a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

at Motuhora along with another Bagnall engine from the Gentle Annie Tramway, and was buried on the site by a landslide in the late-1950s/early 1960s. Dug up in the late 1970s, the remains of ''Annie'' passed through several owners, and are now owned by the East Coast Museum of Technology at Makaraka near Gisborne, who have prepared what remains of the engine for static display. The replica ''Annie'' was constructed based upon working drawings; mechanically identical to ''

Polar Bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

'' but with a

0-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotiv ...

wheel arrangement. The cylinder mould was obtained from the

Bennett Brook Railway The Bennett Brook Railway is a narrow gauge tourist oriented railway operated by the West Australian Light Railway Preservation Association and is located within the boundaries of Whiteman Park, from Perth. History The Western Australian Ligh ...

in Australia, where another replica ''Annie'' had been built. The two replicas are both gauge whereas the original ''Annie'' was built to run on gauge tracks.

Construction

The locomotive was built locally and at the time of construction was the island's newest steam locomotive, having been completed in 1998 and officially launched as part of the Steam 125 event that year. Since this time two new steam locomotives have been provided for the Laxey Mines Railway making them the newest locomotives on the island, although the volunteers at Groudle Glen Railway are currently in the process of building ''

Brown Bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

'', a replica of the railway's 1905 locomotive ''

'' which they aim to have in service by 2018.

Components

The locomotive has carried a number of steam whistles/hooters since entering service, with as many as three carried at any one time. Despite having been "built from scratch", the locomotive can claim some original components - the water tank lid on one of the side tanks is in fact an original one from ''

Sea Lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

'', new ones having been fabricated as part of her 1987 rebuild.

Livery

The locomotive carries a deep tuscan red livery, the same as that carried by

Manx Northern Railway The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905. History When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to ...

locomotive

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

upon her return to service in 1995, with the notable difference that ''Annie'' carried a black/yellow lining out scheme whereas ''Caledonia'' carries a more intricate vermilion lining with gold leaf detailing.

Service

Together with ''Sea Lion'' she provides the main traction on the Groudle Glen Railway and can be seen in service at summer weekends on the line as well as some evenings in peak season and various out of season special services, notably the popular annual ''Santa Trains''. She has been out of service since Easter 2013 for a rebuild which includes new cylinders, works to her side tanks and a new livery. She's expected back in regular service during the 2014 summer season.

References

* * *

External links

Groudle Glen Railway
official site
Groudle Glen Railway

Guide to the railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Annie (Locomotive) Groudle Glen Railway Steam locomotives of Great Britain 2 ft gauge locomotives 0-4-2T locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1998 Narrow gauge locomotives of the United Kingdom Individual locomotives of Great Britain