This locomotive was built by the Wigan Coal & Iron Co Ltd in 1887 to work around its collieries. The company owned and operated more than 30 locomotives, most of which had been built at its Kirkless workshops. As the workshop staff had been trained at Crewe the locomotives had a strong London & North Western Railway influence.
The locomotive is reputed to have been named after the eighth Earl of Balcarres, Alexander Lindsay.
It weighed 39 tons, had 4foot 4inch diameter wheels, 16inch diameter cylinders with a 26 inch stroke and Stephenson valve gear.
In 1947 the locomotive passed into ownership of the National Coal Board (NCB).
Between 1949 and 1954 the locomotive was observed working in the Atherton and Westhoughton area. In the 1950s and early 1960s it was noted at work on the colliery line which ran from Standish to the West Coast Main Line about a mile north of Wigan North Western Station.
In 1967 the locomotive was working at Chisnal Hall Colliery which closed in March of that year.
It then moved to Hafod Colliery at Wrexham but it is believed that it necver actually worked there. Hafod Colliery closed in 1968.
When it was no longer required it was sold to Maudland Metals Scrapyard. It remained there until 1976 when it was bought by the Lindsay Loco Trust.
The locomotive was then restored at Steamtown at Carnforth and steamed there again in 1981.
It was taken out of service in October 1988 and given a further overhaul before returning to steam in June 1990.
Following the closure of Steamtown at Carnforth the locomotive has been stored out of site from the general public apart from one appearance in 2008 when the site had an open day.
Whilst at Carnforth one of the workplates was stolen.
The locomotive remained based at Carnforth until October 2019 when its new owner, James Bunch, moved it to a private site for restoration.
As of December 2023 the overhaul was progressing well with the boiler already finished. The chassis were at Locomotive Maintenance Services (Loughborough) having required significant alignment and machining, including the LNWR style crank webs. It is hoped that it will appear at the Stockton and Darlington 200th event.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 