Offa

One of the railways most popular engines with both passengers and volunteers, Offa was started in 1984 to provide a yet more powerful engine. A second chassis was started at the same time and became Zeus.

Offa’s initial build was slow due to it coinciding with the work involved in building the new railway at Moors Valley, after the closure of Tucktonia. However when it was finished, it lived up to everything that it was hoped it would be.

To date, Offa holds the record of pulling the biggest and heaviest train around the railway – Offa pulled 25 coaches with 198 passengers and 3 guards with no trouble at all!

Offa underwent a major overhaul in 2009-10, including a full boiler re-tube (which was done again in 2018), new wheel sets, new valve gear and a full repaint.

• Builder: Narogauge Ltd, 1991
• Dimensions: length 172 ins x width 26 ins x height 46 ins
• Wheel diameters: leading 6 ins, driving 10 ins, trailing 6 ins
• Number of tubes: 22x 1¼ ins diameter
• Grate area: 155 in²
• Coal capacity: 224 lbs
• Water capacity: 70 gallons
• Boiler diameter: 15 ins
• Boiler pressure: 120 lbs/in²
• Valve gear: Walschaerts
• Cylinder bore: 4¾ ins
• Cylinder stroke: 4¼ ins
• Tractive effort: 997 lbs
• Livery: Furness Railway Red