Being one of the most popular locomotives on the modern railway, No. 4 Loch of 1874 was withdrawn from service following the Santa Train services in 1995. Prior to this the locomotive had seen use extensively during the Year Of Railways in 1993 when she was selected to haul the Steam On Electric specials in conjunction with the centenary of the Manx Electric Railway. The locomotive was favoured by many owing to these jaunts, and was the south-based locomotive for a number of years under the care of regular driver Jeffrey Kelly who took great pride in caring for the locomotive, always seeing that she was turned out in immaculate condition.
By the summer of 1998 the locomotive had been in store at Douglas Station since withdrawal and to tie-in with the Steam 125 event to mark the anniversary of the opening of the Peel Line, the Supporters' Association launched its most ambitious project for a number of years, namely the restoration of the locomotive to passenger service by means of the Un-Loch Your Cash appeal. The project was announced at Douglas Station by chairman William Cubbon to an assembled crowd and fundraising began in earnest with donations totalling nearly £700.00 being received on that first day alone.
Leaflets detailing the summary history of the locomotive and the various ways in which members of the public could donate were prepared and distributed and thanks to the co-operation of the railways’ management the locomotive took pride of place in the newly re-opened Railway Museum at the terminus of Port Erin in time for the 1999 season, further bringing the project to the public eye. Publicity material appeared in the local press as well as within the museum itself, and the project gained much support in its early stages.
There were various ways to donate and the most popular proved to be the chance to obtain replica name and works plates as well as chimney numerals and the well-known railway artist Malcolm Ranieri donated a print for auctioning, further swelling the coffers and ensuring the project came to a relatively swift conclusion. The locomotive was moved off-island for work to be carried out, courtesy of the Steam Packet, and the enthusiast fraternity were most generous in their donations.
One of the fundraising initiatives invited prospective people to become shareholders (a unique operating agreement ensured that the locomotive became Supporters’ Association property for the period of restoration) with the additional bonus that all shareholders would be invited to travel on the engine’s inaugural trip along the line upon completion of the project. The fundraising continued apace and thanks to the generosity of the public in a few short years, the locomotive was completed and returned to the railway in early 2002 following just over three years’-worth of bucket-rattling.
On the 8th August 2002 following several successful test runs the previous month the locomotive was handed over to David Cretney M.H.K., the minister for the department of Tourism & Leisure, owners and operators of the railway, by chairman Tony Beard at Douglas Station. After various speeches were made, the projects funding shareholders, invited guests and committee members were invited aboard the locomotive’s first official run, as far as Santon Station (the line’s temporary terminus at the time, whilst work continued on the all-island sewerage network beneath the trackbed further south). Among the guests was Lord Ailsa’s manager Max Crookall who reminded us that this was the second occasion he had seen the locomotive return to service, the first being during his tenure in 1968, famously the engine was something of a first, returning to service on the last day the full railway ever operated!
Since handover the locomotive has proved to be a reliable member of the regular service fleet, further raising public awareness of the Supporters’ Association by the addition of a suitable brass plaque mounted between the two rear cab sheet windows of the locomotive. In 2009 the Supporters’ Association further helped the locomotive by funding a new set of boiler tubes at a cost of some £4,000.00 to ensure her retention in service.
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