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Unknown - No. 614 at Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway 10 October 2023

No. 614 was built in 1896 for William Beardmore & Co. at Mossend. William Beardmore & Co. was founded in 1886 when an earlier partnership was dissolved following the death of his father and the retirement of his brother. At its peak in the mid-1930s the organisation employed 40,000 people. The Mossend Engineering Works was built as Mossend Steelworks by William Beardmore and Co Ltd. to make steel for munitions during the First World War. It was acquired by Colvilles Ltd. in 1934. This company had been created three years earlier with the amalgamation of David Colville and James Dunlop and Co. This was part of a plan to merge all Scottish steel-makers in to rationalise the industry.

No. 614 was rebuilt in 1941 by Andrew Barclay under works No 5997.

In 1967 Colvilles Ltd. became part of British Steel. In February of that year Colvilles Ltd. presented the engine to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB).

The locomotive moved to the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway (SKLR) in August 1971 from storage at the Scottish Railway Preservation Society at Falkirk.

Following the decision by the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway to find a new home for Peckett & Sons W4 class saddle tank works No. 614 Bear, the oldest Peckett locomotive in the UK, an article was published in the June 2023 edition of Heritage Railway magazine, seeking offers from a registered charity, accredited museum or other recognised organisation. The deadline for offers was 31st August 2023. After discussion between QRS and SKLR and following careful consideration the Board of SKLR agreed unanimously to accept an offer for Bear from the Quainton Railway Society / Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, for the transfer of ownership.

Bear was relocated in March 2024 to our secure undercover accommodation at Quainton for initial cosmetic repair, followed, in due course as time and resources permit, by restoration to operating condition.

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