50 Years of L&Y Preservation
Fifty years ago this month a small group of railway enthusiasts from Rochdale founded what was later to become the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Preservation Trust, a registered charity.
They own three steam locomotives, two ex-Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
(L&Y) "Pug", small shunting engines, which worked in docks and goods yards.
Number 68 ex British Railways (BR) 51218 is currently out of service awaiting periodic boiler maintenance. In 1975 this locomotive was one of the 40 locomotives in the Locomotive Cavalcade at Shildon commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Sister engine number 19 formerly London Midland Scottish Railways (LMS)
11243 was sold out of mainline service and last worked for United Glass Bottles in Charlton, South London. Currently it is a static exhibit in the Museum at the Ribble Steam Railway, Preston.
The third locomotive is L&Y number 752 formerly LMS 11456, sold to Coppull
Colliery in 1936. Built in 1881 as a tender engine it was later converted
to a saddletank. Its overhauled boiler is expected to be delivered in the
next few months but there are some other mechanical repairs to be done before this veteran can run again. This class of locomotive shunted the goods yards in the Rochdale and Castleton areas for many years. Number 752 was in the Locomotive Cavalcade held in 1980 at Rainhill commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Rainhill trials won by the world famous "Rocket"
and the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway the following year.
The Trust is also the owners of four ex L&YR carriages. The Hughes brake/third number 1474 of 1910 was largely restored from a departmental
vehicle to a passenger carriage by Glenn Foxley of Heywood. The famous
L&Y "Club Carriage", number 47, used on the Blackpool/Manchester residential service by textile magnates living on the Fylde eventually became a cricket pavilion at Borrowash but thanks to Redrow Homes who were building on the cricket field, this carriage was preserved and has been completely overhauled and returned to service on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. It has been used in numerous television programmes.
The Trust also owns a pair of 6 wheel coaches dating from the 1880s which were rescued from a site at Hapton (Accrington) where they had been
converted into bungalows! One of these has already entered service and
the second is well advanced.
Members of the Trust celebrated the anniversary by travelling on the Worth Valley Railway on 25 January with a luncheon of potato pie and mushy peas.
Of the original founders, Ralph Newhouse lives in Germany, Richard Greenwood is active in STORM but Donald Russell passed away some years ago. His widow, Anne, and two sons Stuart and Keith with their wives and the three grandsons were all on the train. Other locals involved in the early days and present on the train included Barry Hilton now in Pickering, Gordon Massey now in Pinner, Stephen Greenwood now in Selby, Robin Higgins from
Barnoldswick and Ian Holt still in Rochdale.
The idea of preserving a steam engine was first discussed one evening in the Craven Heifer public house on Broad Lane, now sadly no more.
list of photographes.
Photo 1 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway No 752 at Heap Bridge, Heywood. R S Greenwood
Photo 2 Lancashir & Yorkshire Railway No 752 at Bold Colliery, St Helens, preparing to take part in the Rockett 150 celebrations. R S Greenwood
Photo 3 Lancashir & Yorkshire Railway No 51218 in the Cavalcade at Shildon to mark the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. R S Greenwood
Photo 4 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Pug in Rochdale Fire Station yard February 1967. R S Greenwood
Photo 5 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Pug No 51218 at the former station at Shawclough and Healey whilst working brake van trips Rochdale to Whitworth 19 February 1967. R S Greenwood