This locomotive was built in 1952 by the Hunslet Engine Company to the design used to supply to the Ministry of Defence and is thus regarded as an Austerity type locomotive.
See LNER class J94 for details.
From the works it was delivered to NCB Baggeridge Colliery, near Wolverhampton, where it worked alongside Hunslet locomotive 3777 which is also preserved.
By March 1968 when the pit closed it had moved to Hilton Main Colliery where it became No 8. The locomotive is likely to have left Baggeridge a few years earlier as diesels were in use there from around 1965.
In September 1968 it was moved to Granville Colliery before going to Cannock Wood Colliery by July 1970. By January 1971 it was at West Cannock Colliery and in February 1977 it was to be found at Bickershaw Colliery.
In preservation it has travelled widely, starting off on the East Lancs. Railway, before moving to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. Whilst at the East Lancs Railway it was given the name Sir Ropert Peel.
From there it was purchased by the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway, where it had been based until early December 2000. The locomotive had not been in steam for two years by this time as it had been withdrawn from service as it required major firebox repairs. As a result it was decided the locomotive should be sold.
It was bought by John Marrows and moved to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway in December 2000.
It has since had the cab fittings dismantled in preparation for the firebox repairs which will see the top rows of boiler tubes removed to enable the firebox lap to be jacked back to true. The next stage will see threaded longitudinal stays inserted to replace the all-welded ones, which are unreliable. Hopefully then the locomotive will be able to enter service on the line, as the chassis is thought to be in good condition. The only remaining job will be to repaint the locomotive completely, hopefully in one of the Walkden liveries. It will be named Warspite, after another of the engines (Hunslet Works No 3778) John Marrow worked on at Walkden.
In the summer of 2020 the locomotive was at Bryn Engineering Services at Bolton where it was being overhauled.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 