L&MR Lion
Lion was a 0-4-2 tender locomotive built in 1838 by Todd, Kitson & Laird of Leeds for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and is one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives in the world. Originally used for goods haulage on the L&MR, Lion subsequently passed through several ownerships and uses over the following decades, including a period as a stationary pumping engine at Mersey Docks, before being rescued and restored in 1930 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway centenary celebrations. It is now preserved at the Museum of Liverpool and has been returned to working order on several occasions.
Lion was built at a time when the Liverpool and Manchester Railway — the world's first inter-city steam railway, opened in 1830 — was a mature and busy operation, and the locomotive represents the state of early railway engineering nearly a decade after the L&MR's opening. The 0-4-2 wheel arrangement with four coupled driving wheels was one of the standard configurations for goods and mixed-traffic locomotives of the late 1830s, and Lion's outside frame design and inside cylinders were typical of the period.
Lion's most famous appearance outside the museum was in the 1953 Ealing comedy film The Titfield Thunderbolt, where it portrayed the fictional Thunderbolt — a nineteenth-century locomotive supposedly kept running by a village to save its threatened branch line. The film brought Lion to a new generation of admirers and reinforced its status as one of Britain's most beloved historic locomotives. It is currently at the Museum of Liverpool.
Design and development
Lion was built in 1838 by the Leeds firm of Todd, Kitson & Laird (a partnership soon to evolve into the famous Kitson & Co.) as one of two goods engines (with sister "Tiger") for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The 0-4-2 layout — four coupled wheels with a single trailing axle — was adopted to give the four-coupled traction needed for goods work with a longer wheelbase than the 0-4-0 colliery engines of the period.
Service and withdrawals
Lion worked LMR goods traffic from 1838 until 1859, when it was sold out of mainline service to the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board for use as a stationary pumping engine at Princes Dock, Liverpool. In 1928 the Liverpool Engineering Society recognised the engine's historical significance and recovered it for preservation. After restoration to working order, Lion ran in the 1930 Liverpool & Manchester Centenary celebrations and again in the 1980 sesquicentennial.
Lion's most famous public appearance was as the "Thunderbolt" in the 1953 Ealing Studios comedy *The Titfield Thunderbolt*, in which the engine was filmed working passenger trains on the Limpley Stoke branch in Somerset. Lion is now preserved at the Museum of Liverpool, where it remains on permanent display, with occasional working appearances.
Identification features
Compact 0-4-0 (often quoted as 0-4-2 with the trailing axle, depending on configuration) with two coupled axles, inside cylinders, parallel boiler, and a tall front-mounted chimney. Distinctive bright green livery with red wheels in preserved form.
Numbers and names
Named locomotives (outside the listed ranges)
- 0 — Lion
Single locomotive; one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives in the world.
