East Lancashire Railway’s ex-Lancashire & Railway Class 21 0-4-0 ‘Pug’ No. 19 has been repainted in London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) livery with its LMS Number No. 11243 to mark 100 years since the London, Midland and Scottish Railway was formed at the Grouping in 1923.

Built at Horwich in 1910, No. 19 was allocated to Newton Heath shed in Manchester in 1921, renumbered to 11243 in 1923, and withdrawn in 1931 and sold to John Mowlem, which named it Bassett and used on a contract to extend Southampton Docks.

In 1931, it was sold to locomotive dealers George Cohen & Sons Ltd., then in 1935 it went to work at United Glass Bottle Manufacturing Ltd. Charlton in south-east London and renamed Prince.

The London Railway Preservation Society eventually acquired the locomotive and moved it to its Luton depot, then in 1967 it was moved to Haworth on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. In 1969 it was transferred to the ownership of what is now the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Trust in 1969.

A trial steaming by the Trust showed that a great deal of work was required to restore the locomotive to working order, so the decision was taken to display it as a static exhibit at Oxenhope. It later moved to ‘Steamport Southport’ located in the former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway shed, and at a steam event February 1998 No. 19 was repainted to feature as classmate 51231.

In January 2020, No. 19 was moved to the East Lancashire Railway and for a Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway-themed gala it was renumbered 51241. The following year, a contract was placed with the East Lancashire Railway to overhaul the locomotive and bring it back to operational condition. In April 2022 came a high point when it returned to steam.

Now renumbered as 11243 and in its fine new livery, it will initially take part in some shunting demonstration days next month at Bury on the East Lancashire Railway before attending special events at the Bluebell Railway from 21st to 23rd April and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in late spring.