Hornby OO R3871 Port of Bristol Authority Peckett B2 Class 0-6-0ST 1264/1913 Henry - Era 6
Run by the merchants of the City of Bristol the Port of Bristol Authority naturally supported Bristol based locomotive builders when purchasing the fleet of shunting engines needed for the dock complexes at Portishead and Avonmouth. Peckett B2 class 0-6-0 saddle tank engine Henry was built in 1913 and was noted in a list of locomotives at Avonmouth docks in 1939.
This model is finished in the attractive Peckett factory finish of lined mid-green with polished brasswork. The PBA locomotive crews tried to maintain their engines in this finish, taking pride in being able to in compete with the GWR's smartly polished passenger engines.
The Peckett B Class was a classic six-coupled, industrial saddle tank type locomotive of the late Victorian/Edwardian era that covered three different variants, from the B1 through to the B3. The original version of the B1 was a Fox Walker design and featured a smokebox that extended beyond the saddle tank, an open cab and a flared top coal bunker. When the firm Peckett & Sons Ltd took over the business established at the Atlas Engine Works in St. George, Bristol, by Fox, Walker & Company in 1880, the initial B1 locomotives produced by the firm, followed the Fox Walker design. By 1890, the Peckett B1 design, with its extended covered cab and full-length saddle tank, had evolved and in 1905 a new upgraded version appeared, the B2 Class.
The Peckett B2 0-6-0ST had the appearance of being a more compact locomotive than its predecessor, although in reality it was the bigger cab and external coal bunker that tended to give this impression. The first of the class, No. 1051, was sold new in 1905 to the Trimsaran Colliery in Wales and while no more than four locomotives were ever produced in a year, production continued until 1931 when No. 1802 was sold to Hardwick Colliery Co. Ltd. Peckett B2 No. 1264 was built in 1913 and served at the Avonmouth Docks. The locomotive was named ‘Henry’ and was one of many Pecketts serving at the docks. In later years, the railway system was worked by Sentinel diesel locomotives before closing in 1983.