Heritage Railway Association award for West Lancs’ Sybil

The Sybil Locomotive Trust, based at the West Lancashire Light Railway in Hesketh Bank, was thrilled to be awarded runner-up, Highly Commended for the Steam Locomotive of the Year award at the Heritage Railway Association awards night in Gateshead on the 8th of February 2025. This followed an 8-year restoration of Sybil, a Bagnal 0-4-0ST built in 1906 that worked in the famous Dinorwic Slate Quarries, Llanberis, North Wales. The restoration included a new boiler built by the volunteers at the Hesketh Bank workshop. Sybil was one of five nominations for the national award and the only narrow gauge entry. The award winner was a new build Atlantic mainline railway locomotive 32424 ‘Beachy Head’ based at the famous Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

The West Lancashire Light Railway is delighted to have been nominated for such a prestigious award, along with our fellow nominees, for outstanding restorations and engineering excellence. This is a very proud moment for a small, dedicated restoration team.

Sybil can be seen in operation at the West Lancashire Light Railway, with trains operating every  Sunday and Bank Holiday from March 23rd to 2nd November 2025.

This year’s Heritage Railway Association awards in Gateshead was at the start of a year-long national celebration marking 200 years since the Stockton and Darlington Railway began the first public steam-hauled passenger railway in the world. An invention that transformed the world.