Tom James is 19 and an enthusiastic member of the 1995 Association, which received its own award for its Aveling and Porter engine, so this is something of a family affair.

Tom has always been a fan of steam; even when the Aveling and Porter engine was out of action and no big steam was available he spent hours on the Mammod model engine and then on a 2” locomotive Pride of Penrith. Later on when the Association took over the Jubilee, a Ransomes Simms and Jeffries traction engine, he started to really get into big steam, firstly keeping a log of the repairs and hours under steam, then very soon keeping the schedule of work for the boiler examinations and steam tests.

When the Aveling returned from boiler repairs Tom started to tackle more advanced projects such as tube expanding, the cleaning and repairs to the final gear train, which involved many a happy hour in the paraffin bath, cleaning the motion, painting parts and re-assembling on the boiler.

He really comes into his own when out on the road driving the RSJ traction engine that he and his father look after. It’s not an easy job negotiating modern day traffic but Tom does it with little fuss and a great deal of expertise.

Tom has an apprenticeship as a HGV fitter and this complements his engineering skills allowing him to relate the things he has learnt on the engines to modern lorries and heavy plant.
Tom merits the award on account of his traditional apprenticeship into the way of steam. He has started at the bottom and stuck with it, becoming very competent at all aspects of the conservation, restoration and running of road steam.