A new exhibit arrived at Christmas 2010 to join the fleet of Industrial locomotives at the Ribble Steam Railway and the engine has been a TV star!
The rare engine Number 53 ‘Windle’ arrived from the Middleton Railway in Yorkshire and the railway volunteers intended to return the loco to full working order.
The locomotive, built in 1909 was one of around twenty similar locomotives which worked at Pilkingtons based at St Helens in Lancashire, (including a loco built in 1904 named ‘Preston’). Only three of this type of locomotive survive to this day and the museum is fortunate to now have two examples, the other being ‘The King’ which celebrated her centenary fairly recently.
‘Windle’ was saved from scrap in 1961 and was one of the earliest locomotives to go into preservation. She has only worked for 10 years out of the last fifty so the Ribble Steam Railway are looking forward to returning her to full steam.
The locomotive is also a star in her own right having featured in a children’s TV programme ‘Fred The Fugitive Engine’ which was shown on Channel 4 in 1990.
