0-6-0 Saddletank No.752

It is now just over 40 years since 752 came into preservation and its second period of steaming.

752 was built in 1881 at the Manchester works of Beyer Peacock as one of hundreds of 0-6-0 tender locomotives built for the L&Y Railway, who rebuilt it in April 1896 to its current ‘Saddletank’ design like all but 50 of the class – preserved 957 is one of the 50.

752 became 11456 of the LMS Railway at the 1923 Grouping and continued in service on the old L&Y system in the Wigan area until the next major event in its life, withdrawal by the LMS in 1937 and subsequent sale to The Blainscough Colliery Company for their Welch Whittle Colliery near Wigan.

In 1947 becoming the property of the National Coal Board (NCB), 752 continued in service at Chisnall Hall and Standish collieries in the Wigan area until taken into the NCB’s Kirklees works at Wigan. By April 1960 752 was back at work at Parsonage Colliery near Leigh where, apart from a brief spell at Bickershaw Colliery, 752 stayed until falling out of use by 1966 and acquisition from the NCB in 1968.

The L&Y Saddletanks Fund (predecessors of the Trust) negotiated with the NCB for over two years before taking over 752 in 1967 as a donation from the NCB. One interesting facet of the negotiations was that the NCB had serious concerns that the new owners would fail to restore 752 and profit from its scrap value, thereby depriving the NCB of legitimate income, 752 being scheduled for scrapping at the time.

At the time that 752 came into the Fund’s ownership, it was still possible to have a steam locomotive transported by rail, and arrangements were made for delivery via a very circuitous route through Lancashire to the premises of Yates Duxbury in Heap Bridge near Heywood, where restoration started. For the last stage of the journey the train locomotive was the preserved 8F 48773, when it was still in normal service.

With restoration well advanced, the Fund brought 752 by road transporter to Haworth on the Worth Valley Railway, where the first steaming was made.

In the next five years the Fund had become the L&YRPS and within the following five years the newly-formed L&YR Trust had become a Registered Charity. When the availability of significant funding started to become available from the National Lottery through their Heritage Lottery Fund, a successful application enabled the funds were available to complete the extensive boiler repairs.

752’s exclusive links with the Counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire (as far as can be established, it has never strayed outside them) have been maintained as the restoration has been completed at the East Lancashire Railway at Bury and Alan McEwen’s works at Cowling as well as at the Worth Valley Railway.

Gallery - click the image to view ..