Ex-Great Eastern Railway steam locomotive helped Masons raise £13,000 for charity

·      Permanent Way Lodge no. 9951 celebrates Railway200

·      Three charities: Great Ormond Street, Railway Children and Lifelites share £13,000

·      Rare sight of a steam locomotive on a London street

Commuters and passers-by were surprised and delighted to see a steam locomotive, on a short panel of track and in steam, standing outside Liverpool Street Station in London, on 8th and 9th December. 

The locomotive was there as part of a Masonic celebration of Railway200, the bi-centenary of the modern railway.  The money raised for the event has reached £13,000, to be shared between three children’s charities: Great Ormond Street Hospital, Railway Children and Lifelites.

This was a homecoming for No. 229, the tiny 1876-built ex-Great Eastern Railway (GER) tank locomotive known as the ‘Coffee Pot’, as when new, it worked at Liverpool Street station.

2025 marked the 200^th Anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, opened by Freemasons George and Robert Stephenson in September 1825.  It was the first commercial railway to run goods and passenger trains exclusively using steam locomotives, including the preserved engine known as ‘Locomotion No. 1’.  It led to development of the national and international railway networks we know today. 

Organised by the Worcestershire-based special-interest railway Lodge, Permanent Way Lodge no. 9951, a special meeting was held by dispensation from both Metropolitan Grand Lodge and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire.  All 78 seats of the spectacular Grecian-themed Masonic meeting room within the Liverpool Street Andaz, formerly the Great Eastern Hotel, were filled by Brethren from across the nation.

The hotel was completed in 1884 by Freemasons Lord Claud Hamilton, Chairman of the GER, and his directors.  They recognised a growing need for special Masonic meeting facilities in London, adding two very elaborate temples within the hotel.  One, in an Egyptian style, is now a gym, while the other, in Grecian style and expensively finished in rare Italian marble, remains as built but is rarely used for Masonic meetings today. 

Following the meeting, a gala dinner was held that included an auction of railway antiques such as railway signs and locomotive number plates.  A grand draw was also launched with a range of mainly railway-related prizes, such as a ride with the driver of an Azuma train from Kings Cross to York.  A bucket collection by the locomotive, gave passers-by an opportunity to contribute cash or operate the whistle for a fiver.  These fundraising initiatives have raised an astonishing £13,000, which is being divided equally between the three charities.

Commented Andrew Goodman, Master of the Permanent Way Lodge and managing director of Railway Support Services, which organised and sponsored the transport of the locomotive from Gloucestershire to London: “This was an idea we had way back in April, but it took a long time before it really took off.  We finally had the ‘green light’ at the beginning of October.  

"It was such a privilege to chair this special meeting with some very senior Freemasons present, including Sir David Hugh Wootton, Past Assistant Grand Master of UGLE.  Being able to have a steam locomotive, in steam, outside the station was a triumph - it certainly drew attention to what we were wanting to achieve.  And those who didn’t see it, certainly heard its whistle echoing around the station and nearby City streets.

“My team and I are deeply grateful to the authorities and many railway organisations, including the owner of no. 229, Bill Parker of the Flour Mill locomotive workshops in Gloucestershire, for so enthusiastically embracing this initiative.

“It is something I’ll long remember as one of the most remarkable Masonic and Railway200 achievements of 2025."