RESTORERS of a historic locomotive have secured a loan of up to £46,000 to enable the completion of work on the 112-year-old vehicle.
The Transport Trust has agreed to provide the 1903 NER Autocar Trust with a loan facility as it continues its project to restore the early electric locomotive at Embsay.
The Autocar Trust has been fortunate to gain grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, PRISM and the Ken Hoole Trust and has raised funds itself.
Despite extensive initial planning, however, some aspects of the restoration have taken longer and proved more expensive than originally anticipated, primarily due to the remedial work needed on the chassis and inflation.
This came as an unwelcome surprise at a late stage in the restoration.
Trust chairman Stephen Middleton said: “This is a fantastic vote of confidence and I am proud that the Transport Trust is associated with us.”
As the first loco in the world to be powered by a petrol electric engine, the York-built 1903 autocar is the forerunner of today’s motive power.
The loan is to be repaid when Autocar is operational.
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