The locomotive was supplied to the Ministry of Supply, used at first in Swynnerton Royal Ordnance factory. It moved to the Royal Ordnance factory at Salwick, later the UK Atomic Energy Authority and finally BNFL.
It was a standby loco with two Hudswell diesels doing much of the work so it remained in good condition.
It went to the Middleton Railway in 1972 and was in use for 18 years.
Since 1990 the locomotive has been out of use and moved to RSR to join the two Salwick diesels ‘Mighty Atom‘ and ‘Sparky‘ in 2015 (Jan 28) for display in the museum.
The locomotive is on loan from The Middleton Railway, Hunslet, Leeds, being jointly owned by Mrs Sheila Bye and the Middleton Railway Trust Ltd.
The loco was named after John Blenkinsop (1783-1831) who was an English mining engineer and an inventor of steam locomotives, who designed the first practical railway locomotive. In addition to managing the Middleton Collieries, in the 1820s John Blenkinsop was the consulting engineer for Sir John Lister Kaye of Denby Grange, owner of Caphouse Colliery. Also, as a qualified “Viewer”, he was hired by various other colliery owners to examine their collieries and report on such vital matters as the expected future production of a pit, as well as to make suggestions as to how its operation and production could be improved. Blenkinsop died in Leeds in 1831.
