JIM SARNEY - FIRST STEAM HEAVY HAULAGE CO-ORDINATOR TO ALLOW MINIATURES IN THE “PLAY PEN”
No doubt like lots of other engine men and women around the country, I had known Jim from my early years of visiting steam rallies up and down the country, and more so after we obtained our 4in Burrell SC Percy’s Pride in 1997, writes Mal Jordan.
To my knowledge, Jim was the first steam heavy haulage co-ordinator at the Great Dorset Steam Fair to allow miniatures into the hallowed ‘Play Pen’ and I will come on to how that happened later.
Jim was certainly one of a kind. He always wanted to exhibit the engines he owned in a similar manner to what they had been built for. In other words if it was a road locomotive then he wanted to demonstrate to the public what these engines would have been used for, whether this being in hauling heavy and awkward loads, being a brake engine or using the engine’s winching power to move loads that could not be moved by other means. He carried out these activities at most of the rallies he attended and even more so after he had set up ‘Amalgamated Heavy Haulage’ in 1985 with like-minded steam engine owners
