Appleby Frodingham Railway


The Appleby Frodingham Railway - Scunthorpe is based at Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. The society owns locomotives and rolling stock but not the railway it runs on. The name comes from the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company, now known as British Steel Limited Scunthorpe after the companies buyout by Greybull Capital in 2016, and after going into compulsory liquidation in 2019, Jingye Group. The railway operates entirely within the Steelworks limits over tracks normally used for moving molten iron, steel and raw materials. Trains travel between, all within the steelworks.

History

Occasional excursion trains were run around the Scunthorpe Steel Works site using the works' own locomotives.
In 1990, British Steel PLC celebrated their 100 years of steelmaking at their plant in Scunthorpe. The works asked every department to join in with the celebrations. Keith Norris, rail traffic manager at the time, spoke with the works loco drivers and it was decided the Rail Traffic Department would borrow a steam engine and a coach to take a group of invited dignitaries around the site. After the first tour, over 100 trips were run for school children and members of the public The last trip ran in September, but requests for tours around the work kept coming in.
At the end of 1990, some of the works drivers met British Steel PLC management and asked if they could run the tours again in 1991. With this, and with management in full agreement, the idea of a railway preservation group was born.
"Bellerophon" was borrowed from the Vintage Carriage Trust at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. British Rail donated 2 ex-Class 108 DMU carriages to be used on rail tours. These tours were run throughout 1991, and donations collected were put towards the  maintenance of the coaches and rolling stock.
1992 saw the arrival of "Arnold Machin", an 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunter from East Coast Slag Co. It was overhauled and returned to working order, whilst steam traction was provided by "Sir Berkley". This locomotive was also on loan from the Vintage Carriages Trust. Towards the end of 1992, a member saw an advert in the Railway Press for a Polish steam locomotive being sold by a Polish steelworks. With these locos being ideal for operations around the work, two members decided to visit the plant in Poland and "Hutnik" was purchased and brought back to Scunthorpe.
In 1993, "Hutnik" took charge of her first train, becoming the staple motive power for the next 12 years.
In 1995, after a members' purchase, a Pecket 0-4-0 saddle tank was brought to Scunthorpe, and after receiving a full overhaul, joined "Hutnik" hauling passengers.
Since then, the society has been home to many privately owned locomotives and rolling stock, including a Bagnal 0-4-0 Diesel-hydraulic bought by a members' consortium, and a steam locomotive owned by a group of volunteers at the Derwent Valley Light Railway.
On occasions, internal steelworks locomotives have also been used on passenger trains to the delight of visitors, and with many thanks to British Steel.

Special Events

Irregular special events are organised such as 'Diesel Days' where Corus and other visiting locomotives operated a series of trains through the day. For example, in 2003 one of each type of internal steelworks locomotive: a Yorkshire Engine Company Janus, a Hunslet Anchor Locomotive and a 'High Line locomotive', together with an EWS Class 08 were used on the Gala trains, each making one round trip of around using the societies Brake Vans and Class 108 DMU Carriages.
It is not unusual for the passenger trains to be stopped to allow steelworks trains to pass. It is sometimes possible to see trains carrying molten iron from the "Queens" - Blast Furnaces.