The Sentinel

Our Sentinel loco 9559 of 1953 arrived at Marley Hill as No.4 along with No.3 from RY Pickering in 1979.   Such Sentinels of 1940s design competed with diesels for economy of fuel, manning & maintenance, with rapid steaming.   Locally, 100hp Sentinels worked at Dunston & Stella North power station (9597), Shorts Sunderland shipyard (9563), & sister loco 9558 at Armstrongs steel mills, Gateshead & Jarrow.   There were 200hp Sentinels at Derwenthaugh (9581/3/4) & Seaham (9575, 9618/9).

Pictured is similar Sentinel steamer 9536 as rebuilt, not 9559.
9559 was built for Rugby Portland Cement at Totternhoe in 1953,
moving to their New Bilton plant in September 1964,
& to the dealer Thomas Hill in April 1967.
(The extract above is from the IRS bulletin no.1000 of 2017.)

9559 worked from 1968 to 1979 at Pickerings as their No.4,
replacing No.3, a R&W Hawthorn loco of 1884

The Sentinel had a short first run outside Marley Hill shed

In steam at Marley Hill after work on the boiler, engine, suspension, bunker & paint

Neil on the Causey station pilot loco,
while the line was being extended to East Tanfield

Neil & I with the first TR steam loco on Houghwell Burn bridge, 19 April 1992

Postscript: looking at the photos of work at Pickerings, I now think that the Sentinel had its buffers lopped to avoid fouling the waggons, which had low or no drawgear & no buffers.