LMR 57 Lion

"Lion" was ordered by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in October 1837; one of an order of six locomotives from Todd, Kitson & Laird of Leeds. They were built according to the patents of Robert Stephenson for a six-wheel locomotive and that of John Melling, the LMR Locomotive Superintendent and included several of his patent ideas, including hollow water filled firebars; a pre-heating tank beneath the firebox into which waste steam from the safety valve could be directed; Melling's patent radial valve gear; and a coupling wheel to aid adhesion. "Lion" and her sister "Tiger" were 0-4-2 'luggage' engines for working goods trains. They had cylinders 11 x 20 inches; 5-feet driving wheels; 37 inches diameter carrying wheels; and 50psi boilers 7 feet 4 inches long and slightly oval in cross section.[3]

"Lion" was rebuilt at Edge Hill by the LMR in 1841 with a new boiler 8 feet 6 inches long, which necessitated the building of new, longer, frames; new cylinders 12 x 18 inches; new valves and valve chests; and new valve gear as designed by William Barber Buddicom 1840-1841. "Lion's" present cylinders measure 14 1/8th inches x 18 inches suggesting they have been changed at a later date.

In 1845 the LMR was absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway (GJR), which in turn was one of the constituents of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) a year later. Lion was re-numbered 116 on the LNWR Northern Division.

It was used in traffic until 1857, what it was transferred to the Stores Department as Ballast Engine No. 14. "Lion" was sold to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board in May 1859 for £400 to work the internal system of the Docks & Harbour Board in Liverpool. A new boiler - and probably the present boiler carried by the engine - was fitted by the Harbour Board in 1865.

Around 1874 "Lion" was retired to work as a pumping engine at the Graving Dock facility at Prince's Dock which came into use in January 1875. It was "rediscovered" in 1923 and then rescued by members of the Liverpool Engineering Society in 1928 when it was replaced by an electric pump, and then renovated by Crewe works. Lion's tender had long since been scrapped so a new one was built by Crewe Works using parts from a scrapped Furness Railway tender, originally built by Sharp, Stewart of Manchester. Other work included: a new chimney; new smokebox doors; new wheel splashers; new foot plate and cab guard rails; new boiler lagging; new boiler tubes; the fitting of a mechanical lubricator; new boiler fittings. The cylinders were also probably re-bored. A controversial copper cover was fitted over the high-crowned wagon-top firebox to simulate an arc de cloitre firebox of the 1840s period.

Lion took part in the LMR centenary celebrations in 1930 and the London and Birmingham Railway centenary in 1938.

Before World War II, Lion was displayed at Lime Street station. During the war it was stored at Crewe and afterwards displayed in the Transport Gallery of Liverpool Museum.

It starred in the 1953 film The Titfield Thunderbolt, among others. During the filming of Thunderbolt, the engine was fitted with a damper and a pressure gauge in order to promote better boiler management to prevent it from blowing off all the time. During filming, the buffer beam on the tender was dented, damage still visible years later. It was the second oldest locomotive to be steamed, the oldest being the British-built American locomotive John Bull. The locomotive had been used in the 1951 film The Lady with a Lamp, depicting the arrival of Florence Nightingale at her home.[4]

"Lion" was restored by Rustons Diesels Ltd. in 1979-1980. New boiler tubes were fitted; the original main steam pipe was replaced; because the original plug regulator was cracked, a new one was cast and fitted; new boiler fittings, including bourdon-type pressure gauge, gauge glass and try-cocks were fitted. New wash out plugs were also provided. The front buffer beam (not original) was reinforced with channel section. Safety chains were fitted and the tender equipped with air brakes taken from a commercial HGV. The boiler certificate issued by BR was for four years.

Whilst the new Museum of Liverpool was being built, between 1999 and 2007 Lion was on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester alongside replica Liverpool and Manchester Railway locomotive Planet. It underwent a cosmetic restoration by Liverpool Museums in 2008 before going on display in the new museum.

On 27 February 2007, Lion was moved by road from Manchester to Liverpool for conservation work prior to it becoming an exhibit in the new Museum of Liverpool.[5]