This locomotive was built by Peckett & Sons in 1941 for the Crowlands Gas Works at Southport. Interestingly it was painted in Midland Railway livery but with a Southport Corporation crest.
In 1958 the locomotive was transferred to Darwen Gas Works where it was employed until 1963 when it was replaced by a diesel.
The Chairman (Bob Cryer) of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society (KWVRPS) had taken an interest in this locomotive and he was instrumental in obtaining the locomotive from the North Western Gas Board. It was sold to the KWVRPS for a nominal sum and after it had lain derelict for three years in an open siding at Darwen it arrived at Haworth in September 1966.
At Haworth the locomotive was fitted with vacuum brake equipment and hauled some of the lighter trains on the line but was unsuitable for the heavier loads which became the norm as the railway developed.
In July 1969 the locomotive was transported by road to Matlock for a sequence of shots at Cromford Station of “the Virgin and the Gipsy”.
The locomotive was placed on long term loan to Steamport at Southport where it arrived in September 1974. It was at this time, some three years after centre was established in the old engines shed at Southport, that Steamport opened its doors to the public. It was used at Steamport in the late 1970s and early 1980s before being taken out of service.
Steamport closed in 1999 and the locomotive was moved to the Ribble Steam Railway in March of that year. It was subsequently purchased from the KWVR by the Ribble Steam Railway.
Restoration of the locomotive at the Ribble Steam Railway is ongoing and there is no scheduled completion date.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 