CURRENT STATUS – restoration was fully completed by June 2022 and 19 is available for service on the East Lancashire Railway having been reliveried as LMS 11243 in early 2023.
During April and May 2023 19 was on hire away from the East Lancashire Railway participating in events at the Bluebell Railway and the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway.
During September and early October 2022 19 revisited its long-term home for many years on static display at the Ribble Steam Railway, Preston from which it was temporarily relocated in 2020 to the East Lancashire Railway at Bury. Here it was evaluated for potential restoration to steam, the results of mechanical examination and Non Destructive Testing of the boiler showed that the overall condition was better than first thought, so the trustees decided to progress restoration to steam under a contract at the East Lancashire Railway.
Some historical images of Pug 19 can be seen at the bottom of this page, details of the restoration can now be found on a separate page – 19 photos and restoration, images of 19 in use will also feature in our page photos – stock in use
March 2023 – 19 has now become 11243 in LMS livery in recognition of 2023 being the centenary of the LMS as part of the ‘Big Four’ grouping
October 14th to 16th 2022 – 19 will be in use during the East Lancashire Gala based at various locations, details can be found by downloading the timetable from their events website page – click here
September 2022 and October 1st and 2nd 2022 – 19 operated services on the Ribble Steam Railway, its long term home on static display.
June 2022 – 19 featured in the celebration of the centenary of the merger of the L&Y and L&NW Railways in 1922 and will be hauling its first ever passenger train on 18th June and will also be in use on 19th June.
May 2022 – with fitting of the vacuum brake system some trial runs have been successfully completed on the East Lancashire Railway main line with a 1 freight, and 19 is scheduled for use on public services in the 18th and 19th June celebrating the centenary of the merger of the L&Y and L&NW Railways in 1922.
April 2022 – on 29th April the final steam test was successful in the presence of the insurance inspector. This followed trial runs on 15th and 20th April in steam made within Buckley Wells yard, which were successful, with very few problems found. Components such as the vacuum brake system need to be installed before 19 can enter service.
March 2022 – an official boiler steam test outside the frames has been successful, the boiler has been lagged and trial assembly of the major components has also been a success.
February 2022 – the oak block buffers are now fitted with their protective plates, the boiler has now passed a hydraulic test out of the frames, a small fire then being lit to warm through the repaired boiler in advance of a steam test outside the frames – a trial steaming was carried out on 23rd February and the boiler was taken up to 125psi without any problems.
January 2022 – restoration is still in progress with a replacement chimney now completed and 4 oak blocks delivered for replacement of the buffers, shortly due to arrive is the replacement saddletank manufactured by Bradshaws of Oldbury. In late December 2021 the boiler was temporarily located in the frames to permit the dimensions of parts such as replacement main steam pipe to be determined. It is now expected that restoration will not be complete until the late spring of 2022.
October 2021 – restoration is progressing well with the exception of restoring the actual saddletank, which despite best efforts has proved to be beyond repair and a new tank will have to be manufactured. The frames are now reunited with wheels, motion and brake gear, with boiler work including retubing under way.
It is expected that the restoration will be completed in early 2022.
June 2021 – we have now issued a fundraising appeal to bring the project to completion, hopefully by the end of 2021, you can find the details here
February 2021 the loco is under restoration and will not normally be on public display, photos of the restoration can be seen at he bottom of this page.
November 2020 – the professional detailed examination is now in progress.
July 2020 – assessment of the condition of 19 is under way with a view to undertaking a restoration project.
January 2020 – 19 has been temporarily relocated to the East Lancashire Railway at Bury to be in company with our Saddletank 752. 19 has been temporarily repainted into British Railways livery to be in line with 752 which has been repainted as 51456. Both never carried the livery of course.
Built in 1910 at the L&Y Horwich works, 19 was one of the class of ‘Pug’ locomotives weighing just over 21 tons and a short wheelbase, they were the ideal choice for shunting duties on docksides and yards where they could easily negotiate tight radius curved track.
19 later became LMS number 11243 and was sold in 1931 to John Mowlem for use on a major contract at Southampton Docks where she was named ‘Bassett’.
Four years later the locomotive was moved to London, re-named ‘Prince’ and operated at the Charlton works of United Glass Bottle Manufacturers Ltd as seen in this photo kindly supplied by Gerald T. Robinson.
Acquired in 1967 following 36 years of industrial service after sale by the LMS as 11243. A trial steaming at Haworth showed that extensive work was required, so 19 became at static exhibit, first at Oxenhope and subsequently at ‘Steamport Southport’, the former L&Y shed, where a final steam event took place in February 1998 featuring 19 repainted as local 51231 and our 51218 in steam.
When that organisation relocated to the Ribble Steam Railway at Preston, 19 also relocated and until early 2020 was on public display there, restored to exhibition condition. 19 has since temporarily relocated to the East Lancashire Railway at Bury for their March 2020 Gala for display alongside relaunched 752, and is now not usually on public display.
During the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, the trustees decided to arrange detailed investigations of the overall condition of 19, which so far has indicated a very good mechanical condition and likely a good boiler, although many of the fittings have been replaced with industrial equipment. The trustees then decided to progress restoration of 19 to active service under a contract with the East Lancashire Railway, which means many other aspects of work will need to be considered such as fitting vacuum brake equipment.
Below are some historical images of 19 click on one to enlarge or display as a slide show
