Help with steam loco ID

[tgist]

Hi,

Can anyone ID the engine in the attached photo. I'm afraid I know very little about the railway. But it would be great to ID the engine as one of the figures is my great-grandfather. If it helps, the photo was taken somewhere in the north of England.

Thanks for any help


Tony

 

[2857]

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www.brdatabase.info

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Welcome to the forum, Tony!
According to the above link from 2857, it looks as if it's an Aspinall designed 4-4-0 built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1894.
It would have held that number until absorption into the LMS in 1924.
There are some rather large lumps of coal on the tender!
Do you have any idea why the gentlemen posed for the photographer?
Can't guess the location but there are some sleuths on here who might be able to help!!

 

[Gloster]

I am not an expert on the company, but I think it is an Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Aspinall 1093 class (also known as Class 3), built in 1894 and withdrawn in 1926 as London, Midland & Scottish Railway 10166. They would probably have been the company’s best express locos when introduced.

 

[Dr Hoo]

The class formed the basis for the far more famous 'Highflyers', which had an 'Atlantic' wheel arrangement with an extra pair of pony wheels under the firebox. The were longer, of course, which allowed a more powerful boiler.

I have no clue as to the location. Slightly odd to have five people posing with the locomotive as they tended to be allocated to a specific driver-fireman team as far as possible.

 

[WesternLancer]

does the fact that the track sleepers are covered in ballast give a clue as to date as I recall once reading that after an accident caused by rotten sleepers it was decided that they should in future be visible to aid inspection? Assuming this was accurate info of course...

 

[Gloster]

I would guess that it is fairly early in the loco’s lifespan: its condition, the apparent pride of the staff, etc. suggest this to me. I wonder if it had been prepared for some special duty. The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society would be the people who are most likely to know.

 

[Andy873]

Hi Tony,

The engine is as stated before, an Aspinall engine.

The brdatabase site lists several engines with the number 1221, but only one with this wheel configuration. It was indeed built by the L&Y railway company at Horwich near Bolton and came into service Jan 1894 and was withdrawn Oct 1926.

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brdatabase.info

As for the location we can see several things:

The engine is located in the middle (more or less) of around 5 or 6 lines, so it's more likely this was at the Horwich works, or on some sidings rather than on main running lines.

The building in the background looks to be built with bricks rather than Yorkshire stone which leads me to suggest it's somewhere in Lancashire.

My friends at the L&Y society might know the location, I will ask them for you.

Thanks,
Andy.