Description
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) Class 23 is a class of 0-6-0ST. Their main use was for shunting and for short-trip freight working.
The Class 23 0-6-0ST locomotives were initially built in 1876-87 by L&Y locomotive superintendent Barton Wright as a class of 280 0-6-0 tender engines. 230 of these were rebuilt as saddle tanks at Horwich Works by Aspinall between 1891 and 1900. The class was long-lived. The first loco was withdrawn in 1926 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway, but the last survived in use until 1964 with British Railways London Midland Region. 101 were in service at Nationalization, 20 still in service in 1961.
One locomotive, L&YR 752 (LMS 11456 but sold into colliery service 1937), is preserved by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust, having been acquired by the NCB for continued operation and as of October 2019 could move under its own steam despite overhaul being incomplete. This progressed at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury using primarily their resources in close cooperation with the current owners of 752. The locomotive featured on an episode of the television programme “Steam Train Britain” which showed the locomotive under re-build. Since January 2020 752 has temporarily carried the early British Railways livery as 51456 had it not been sold to industry, and featured in various events in steam before a full public relaunch in the East Lancashire Railway Gala event on March 6th to 8th 2020.
A sister locomotive, L&YR Class 25 no. 957, an 0-6-0 as built in original tender configuration, was also bought for preservation in 1959 and has been based at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway since 1965.
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