If you've read the title of this blog and are expecting a rendition of 'The Hippopotamus Song' by 'Flanders and Swann' then I'm afraid to say that you're in for a bit of disappointment. Alas, my singing talents are long gone and thus some mere words of apparent wisdom will have to suffice instead. Hopefully some of you will be content with this but I fear others may well be asking 'Please, sir, I want some more', and no you won't be getting a rendition of that either, despite having played a certain Oliver Twist in a school production umpteen years ago. 'Oh what the Dickens?!' I hear some of you cry.
On a more serious note and moving on from the subject of mud and hippopotamuses (there's certainly plenty of the former around at the moment!), I'd like to talk about the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) Class 21 0-4-0ST steam locomotive, more commonly referred to as the trusty 'Pug'. A locomotive with wide appeal to both railway modellers and enthusiasts alike. Just two 'Pugs' have survived into preservation out of a total of sixty produced between 1886 & 1910.
With thanks to The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) and the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Trust, we’re pleased to confirm we’re welcoming L&Y Pug No.11243 for this year’s Cotswold Festival of Steam (CFoS) as our third guest. Resplendent in its immaculate new LMS livery, it will be out and about shunting wagons around Winchcombe and on some short passenger trains too, so plenty of opportunities to ride behind and see this diminutive but characterful loco at work. These pugs didn’t quite make it to Gloucester, but they were regulars at Bristol and are representative of the types of small wheelbase locos seen working Gloucester docks and beyond. There's something for everyone at CFoS.
The Class originates from the purchase of three saddle tank locomotives that were ordered from the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire in 1886. These tanks had the Serial No.s 1176-1178 and L&Y No.s 916-918.
From 1891, J. A. F. Aspinall, a mechanical engineer who served as the Locomotive Superintendent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) ordered a further 17 locomotives, this time to a modified design. The modifications included: enlarging the cab, extending the tank over the smokebox, shortening the wheelbase to 5' 9" (1.75m) and raising the boiler pressure to 160 lbf/in2 (1,103 kPa). These locomotives were constructed in three batches at Horwich Works between 1891 & 1895. Aspinall's successors, Henry Hoy and George Hughes, ordered 40 more locomotives in three batches.
L&Y Pug No.11243 (19) was one of the final batch of 20 to be built in 1910 as part of Lot No. 65 - (Serial No.s 1092–1111, L&Y No.s 2, 3, 8, 12, 17, 19, 28, 43, 56, 64, 71, 75, 118, 226, 271, 298, 481, 517, 613, 614, LMS No.s 11238–11257).
The final locomotive was delivered in July of the same year, some four months before the first 'Pug' retirements started.
L&Y Pug shunts at Castlecroft - 18th June 2022 - Video © preservedrailway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) gave the locomotives the power classification 0F and they were constructed for work in busy harbour and dock environments. These environments had sharply curved sidings which necessitated small locomotives with short wheelbases. The 'Pugs' were specifically designed to work in the docklands areas of Fleetwood, Goole, Liverpool and Salford. In later years they began venturing further afield, reaching places such as Bristol, Bangor, Crewe, Derby, Widnes, York and Swansea. Upon nationalisation, only 23 'Pugs' remained in service.
As mentioned earlier, withdrawals commenced in 1910, with two going in that year (917 and 918), four in the 1920s, and thirty-one in the 1930s. After the formation of British Railways (BR), those left were withdrawn between 1957 and 1964.
Our visiting 'Pug' No. 11243 (L&YR 19) was allocated to Newton Heath shed in 1921 and was withdrawn ten years later by the LMS. No. 19 was one of several pugs sold in the 1930s and it was purchased by contractors John Mowlem in 1931. The locomotive was given the name 'Basset' and used on a contract to extend Southampton Docks. Research reveals that it was sold two years later to locomotive dealers 'George Cohen & Sons Ltd', although there is apparently no record of it ever having been in service with them. It was sold to the 'United Glass Bottle Manufacturers' in 1935, where it was renamed ‘Prince’ at the company's works in Charlton, London. It stayed there for the remainder of its working life.
The locomotive was acquired by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Trust in 1967 after 36 years of industrial service. A trial steaming was undertaken at Haworth which revealed that extensive restoration work was required. As a consequence of this, the 'Pug' became a static exhibit, firstly at Oxenhope and subsequently at 'Steamport Southport' - The site of the former L&Y shed. A final steam event took place there in February 1998 which featured the loco repainted as local No. 51231 (an engine that was withdrawn in 1959). Sister 'Pug' No. 51218 was also present for the occasion.
'Steamport Southport' (previously known as Southport Derby Road MPD) was closed at the turn of the 21st century. As a result of the closure, a number of items of rolling stock were relocated to the newly formed Ribble Steam Railway at Preston, this included 'Pug' No. 19. The loco remained on public display restored to exhibition condition until early 2020 when it was relocated to the East Lancashire Railway. In March 2020 it was put on the railway's 'Lanky' gala display as No. 51241. During the coronavirus pandemic, the L&YRT trustees decided to arrange a detailed investigation as to the overall condition of the 'Pug'. It was discovered that the boiler was in a good condition, as were the locos mechanicals.
Due to the positive outcome of the investigation, the trustees decided to progress with restoration to full working order and active service. This was agreed under a contract with the East Lancashire Railway which started in February 2021.
East Lancashire Railway Autumn Steam Gala 15/10/22, L&Y Pug 19 ‘51241’ shunting at Ramsbottom - Video © Lancashire Rail Productions
A number of tests on the loco and its boiler were carried out in early 2022 and a final steam test took place on the 29th April, which was successful. No.19 hauled its first ever passenger train on the 18th June at the East Lancs Railway.
Since June 2022, the 'Pug' has operated services on both the Ribble Steam Railway and the East Lancashire Railway.
Further information about the 'Pug' can be found here: https://lyrtrust.org.uk/our-collection/projects/19-0-4-0-saddletank/
Find out more about the L&YR Trust here: http://www.lyrtrust.org.uk/
Important Note:
New websites were launched earlier this month for both the GWSR and the
GWRT, thus any pre-existing bookmarks to the main blog page via the old
GWSR website will no longer work. The new websites can be found by
visiting https://www.gwsr.com/ (GWSR) and https://www.gwrt.org.uk/ (GWRT).
All of the departmental blogs can now be found on a new main blog page here: https://www.gwsr.com/knowledge/blogs
All of the departmental blogs can now be found on a new main blog page here: https://www.gwsr.com/knowledge/blogs
Until next time folks, further news and announcements are on the way!
Alex (the sooty one!). All published photographs are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.
Simply a superb blog Alex... (After I had found you!.)Mike
ReplyDeleteThank you Michael. Apologies for the disruption during the website changeover.
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