Description
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 predessor, 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 1264 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.
