Steam on Helston’s horizon with Portsmouth Peckett

Regular steam is expected to feature soon on the Helston Railway in Cornwall, after a move by former Hilsea gas works, Portsmouth, Peckett 0‑4‑0ST W/No. 2100 ‘William Murdoch’. Arriving in late September, the 1949‑built locomotive has already steamed for the first time in Cornwall. It is on loan from the Great Western Railway Preservation Group, which acts as custodian for its owners, Portsmouth City Council. The mile‑long line has depended on diesel traction for its regular passenger services until now; only punctuated in 2010 by the brief visit of Port of Par Bagnall 0‑4‑0ST Judy for a special event. ‘William Murdoch’ is a relatively young addition to preservation. The ‘R4’ class locomotive was effectively replaced by a diesel at Hilsea in the 1960s, but remained on site until 1983 when it left for the GWRPG’s Southall site. It has steamed semi‑ regularly at Southall in the intervening years but a lack of vacuum brake equipment has restricted its usefulness. The name ‘William Murdoch’, a post‑ preservation addition, reflects a leading figure in the evolution of the gas industry. The GWRPG’s other industrial steam locomotive, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 0‑4‑0ST Birkenhead, is currently on loan to the Elsecar Heritage Railway where it is a regular on passenger services.