Exact replica of 1870s steam engine rebuilt 79-year-old engineer

An exact replica of a 1870s steam engine has been lovingly built after it's79-year-old engineer spent 5,000 hours building it.

David Thomas Young painstakingly recreated steam engine Samson over three years, with the help of just one surviving photo.

The locomotive, which is based on the original 1874 narrow gauge engine,was built at Beamish Museum, in County Durham.

Retired safety engineer David, of Fatfield, Washington, said:

"I was never a hands-on mechanic, I was more an engineer sat behind a desk. This is basically a hobby gone mad."

He is following in the footsteps of his great, great grandfather, ThomasYoung, who worked at Hetton Colliery Engine Works.

The locomotive was officially launched yesterday (THURS) by volunteer David and partner Paul Jarman, Beamish's assistant director transport & industry, with whom he worked on the project.

David, a retired safety engineer, and Paul used the only surviving photo ofSamson, two engravings and a contemporary trade magazine description toskilfully create from scratch a close reproduction of the original.

Paul, who has worked with David on projects for around ten years said:

"Dave, came to Beamish originally to kill some spare time and serve as an outlet for his creative talents and he has been putting in over 40 hours a week."

"It is a strange feeling to finally see Samson in steam after spending so long thinking about its creation and wondering how the original designers approached the various aspects visible in the 1870s photograph.

"David has done a fantastic job turning this limited evidence into thesteam locomotive we see here now."

The original Samson was built for the London Lead Company by Stephen Lewin, of Poole, Dorset, and was used in Weardale for a quarter of a century, before being scrapped around 1904.

Visitors will be able to see Samson in action at Beamish this Saturday andSunday (1st & 2nd October), in The Colliery Yard from 12pm to 3.30pm.