Quainton Road gains another Peckett as No. 1903 relocates
Dockyard line bids farewell to 1936-built ‘M5’.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Railway Centre (BRC) added a fourth Peckett to its allocation this autumn, with the arrival of 1936-built ‘M5’ 0-4-0ST No. 1903 from the Chatham Dockyard Railway.
The ex-South Wales Public Wharf & Transit Company locomotive, unofficially known as Little Lady, arrived at the BRC’s Quainton Road site on November 3, following its sale to BRC volunteer, Mike Taylor.
The move brought to an end a 14-year association between the loco and the Chatham line, which began when No. 1903 moved there in 2007.
It was returned to steam in 2010 and for much of the next eight years was a regular performer of the many sidings and lines that make up the Chatham system. However,
No. 1903 had to be taken out of service in 2018 following the death of its then owner and was placed in store pending settlement of the owner’s estate. This proved to be a lengthy and drawn-out process, but ultimately allowed No. 1903 to be sold to its proud new owner.
The plan is for the loco to return to steam in due course, after which it will become part of the BRC’s regular operational steam fleet. In doing so
Quainton becomes the loco’s fifth preservation era home, having previously resided at the Gwili and Chasewater Railways amongst others.
No. 1903’s arrival at
Quainton reunites it with another 1936-built Peckett
– the diminutive No. 1900, otherwise known as the ‘Flying Bufferbeam’. With just two locomotives separating Nos. 1900 and 1903 numerically in terms of works numbers, it is highly likely that the two locos would have shared workshop space within Peckett & Son’s Atlas Locomotive Works at the same time during their construction. No. 1900 is currently the subject of an ongoing overhaul.