Jurassic in park! Peckett steams again after 31 years

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ONCE the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway’s flagship locomotive, Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 1008 of 1903 Jurassic has returned to steam after 31 years.

Jurassic was delivered new to the quarries and cement works of Kaye and Company in Southam in Warwickshire, together with similar locomotives named after prehistoric geological periods.

Jurassic on steam test on the LCLR’s tracks in the Skegness Water Leisure Park on May 31. DAVE ENEFER/LCLR

It was bought by the LCLR in 1961 and delivered from Southam along with a Ruston & Hornsby diesel (subsequently scrapped) to Humberston. It entered passenger service on the 2ft gauge LCLR immediately, because the line’s only other locomotive, a 1926-built Simplex, had broken down. Tucked away behind the coal bunker in the cab was a copy of a 1956 edition of the Daily Sketch, which may have been bought by the crew on its final day of operation at Southam.

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The pressure gauge, safety valves and chimney top tell the story: Jurassic is back in steam again on the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway, after 31 years. DAVE ENEFER/LCLR

The LCLR, which provided ‘real’ public transport from the Humberston bus terminus to the local beach and holiday camp, closed in 1985, and was relocated to its current home, the Skegness Water Leisure Park at Ingoldmells, where it reopened in 2009.

Jurassic’s last run was in 1986 when it visited the Leighton Buzzard Railway’s annual gala. After that, it was stored at the now-closed Lincolnshire Railway Museum at Burgh-le-Marsh before moving to the leisure park, where the owners erected a shed for the LCLR’s rolling stock.

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