How many railways can you stop traffic while you head down a main road over a bridge with boats either side of you, the Ribble Steam Railway is spectacular. One moment you are rolling past joggers and the next minute you are side by side with cars.
The two locos involved in this video are Hawthorn Leslie 3931/1938 ‘Linda’ and Grant Ritchie 272/1894.
Grant Ritchie of Kilmarnock built 42 industrial steam locomotives between 1879 & 1920, primarily to order from operators in Scotland, although a few locos were supplied South of the border they also built Colliery winding gear etc..
The Company was formed in 1876, following a disastrous fire at Andrew Barclay’s Caledonia workshop in Kilmarnock. Thomas Grant, the Barclay Works manager, bought up a small engineering business in Kilmarnock and together with William Ritchie, another Barclay employee, set up in business together and started building Steam locos just down the road from the Andrew Barclay works. It is said that Messrs Grant & Ritchie were seen leaving Barclay’s works late one night with large bundles of locomotive drawings, this could be true as Grant Ritchie produced locos very similar to the products of Andrew Barclay.
No.272 was built in 1894 and was the 14th loco built by Grant Ritchie. It is the manufacturer’s sole surviving 0-4-0ST. There is a 1914 built 0-4-2ST preserved at the Prestongrange Mining Museum in Scotland. No.272 was delivered new to Kinglassie Colliery Leslie in Fife and carried the running number 21. Little appears to be known for a long period of time. It then went to Cowdenbeath Central Workshops in 1949, to Mary Colliery Fife in 1951, back to Cowdenbeath in 1955, to Fordell Colliery in 1957, Rothes Colliery in 1966 and finally to Thomas Muirs famous scrapyard in Easterbalbeggie on 25th November 1969, where it was to be joined over the years by a further ten Industrial steam locos, ironically including No.6 Andrew Barclay No 2261, which was restored to working order at Preston.
No.272 left Scotland for the first time when it moved into store near Shrewsbury. The loco then arrived at Riversway on 22nd July 2004 for long term restoration.
Linda was delivered new to the Corby site of the British Steel Corporation in Northamptonshire, the loco was originally given the running number 21, and worked alongside many similar classmates. This loco has returned to steam in May 2015.
In the autumn of 1970, No.21 received a new boiler and axleboxes - almost certainly the last steam loco on site to receive such treatment, as the arrival of diesels was just around the corner. During the overhaul, the loco was re-painted in the standard livery of Buttercup yellow with red wheels and motion. It was also given the lettering B.S.C. standing for British Steel Corporation - possibly the only steam loco to receive such, as most were given the standard “S&L” logo.
It was due to this late overhaul that 3931 was identified for preservation, and moved to the Swanage Railway to operate their passenger service. It was at this time the loco obtained the name “Linda”, which has remained with her ever since. After falling out of use at Swanage, the loco moved to the Gwilli Railway in South Wales, but the intended restoration did not happen, and the loco was re-sold again to a private owner in the North West. The loco was delivered directly to Preston, where works to return her to steam have been a success.
Visit the Ribble Steam Railway for heritage train rides along our line. The three mile return trip includes crossing the dock swing bridge (a unique feature on our line) and then along the bank of the River Ribble, giving interesting views of the City of Preston. Parking is free and there is a museum on site. I found it really easy to find and it was an overall enjoyable day that I would highly recommend to everybody. It can be found at PR2 2PD and is well sign posted on the way in.
ribblesteam.org.uk/
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