This type of Motor Rail locomotive is one of the most common narrow gauge locomotives; Motor Rail and Dorman had an exclusivity agreement – hence the preponderance of Dorman engines in these locos.
The War Office ordered this loco during the Second World War, but it is not known to where it was despatched when it was completed. It was subsequently returned to Motor Rail’s works in Bedford, from where it was sold as War Surplus to the Fylde Water Board. It was despatched from Bedford on 25 January 1950 to Westby Works, near Kirkham, Lancashire. This loco was one of a batch of three similar Motor Rail locos that joined the MRT fleet in July 1978 from North West Water Authority (successors to the Fylde Water Board) in Blackpool. During its time at Cheadle it was repainted green.
In 2018, the loco received an extensive overhaul to its radiator and a full re-paint, restoring it to the condition (and appearance) in which it would have worked for the North West Water Authority, including their plant number, 81A136.
Moseley Railway Trust Fleet List 