This OY class locomotive was built by Peckett & Sons in 1937 for Courtaulds at the Red Scar Mill in Preston where it was identified as No 1 Caliban. The Red Scar Mill was built in 1939 and processed man-made fibres such as Viscose and rayon and industrial yarn which accounted for about half of the operation was used specifically for tyres. With the increase in the import of foreign cars the business declined and the mill closed in 1979 with a loss of 2,600 jobs.
The locomotive operated at the mill until 1967 when it was withdrawn from service it was purchased by Alan Middleton and John Houghton, who were respectively secretary and chairman of the Lancashire Railway Circle. Initially the locomotive was moved to Carnforth by rail – hauled by diesel locomotive D5286 in the summer of 1968.
After being at Carnforth for a few years it moved to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway where it hauled the first trains on the line in May 1973. It last ran there in 1986 before moving to Carnforth for storage at what is now the West Coast Railway depot.
It appears to have gone through a period of neglect and by 2005 was partly dismantled and stored in the open on an overgrown siding.
In July 2015 the partly dismantled locomotive returned to Preston at the Ribble Steam Railway
The locomotive is now in the care and restoration of the Furness Railway Trust at the Ribble Steam Railway.
By April 2018 the locomotive was under restoration and the frames had been lifted off the wheelsets to enable the frames to be overhauled.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 