Lucy was built by the Avonside Engine Company at Bristol in 1909 and delivered to the Hutchinson Estate & Dock Co. Ltd. at Widnes. She was one of three class B3 0-6-0STs supplied having 14″ x 22″ cylinders and 3′ 3″ driving wheels, a type so familiar for so long in Liverpool’s dockland. They were named ‘Gertrude’, ‘Lucy’, and ‘Mary’ and dated from 1906, 1909 and 1913 respectively, and were named after the daughters of John Hutchinson, one of the founders of the Widnes chemical industry.
The engine ‘Lucy’ spent it’s entire working life on the Widnes dock system.
It was dismantled in August 1952 and sent to the Hunslet Engine Co. for overhaul. One year later, she returned to work very smartly painted green with yellow lining.
Lucy was retired in January 1971 and was purchased by the Liverpool Locomotive Preservation Group in February 1972 and stored together with ‘Efficient’ in a dockside engine shed at Seacombe. She was transferred to Steamport Southport on 1st August 1973, but briefly returned across the Mersey in July 1978 to take charge of the Birkenhead docker No.4 railtour. Once again in the early 1980’s, Lucy took retirement, and remains a static exhibit.
Lucy moved to Preston with the rest of the stock from Southport, and arrived in Preston on 27th February 1999. Recently given a new coat of paint for exhibition in the museum, the long term plan is to return Lucy to working condition once more when time and materials become available.
