The railtour was for one of the enthusiasts groups. The MD&HB would occasionally agree to hire out a loco, crew and use some BR wagons!
My pic shows one of the 'pug' engines that BR used on the dock railway. This is a Sunday in the mid 1950's at Bank Hall shed.
What is interesting is that all steam locos working under the Overhead Railway had to be fitted with a deflector plate over the chimney. This was to prevent the exhaust from blasting the paint off the underside of the decking. In practice, with the thing in position you were shrouded in a dense fog and couldn't see where you were going! So they were not always used, with the resultant damage to the Overhead!
For traversing the streets, a motion guard over the slide bars was fitted. After a driver had had his hands trapped by it falling down while oiling, these often disappeared, only to appear magically again when the engine was despatched to Horwich works!
All engines were also fitted with a motion driven bell, to warn of approach. Drivers, driven mad by the clanging, found that if they went fast enough the bell could break off, (shame!)
Access to the docks from Bank Hall was via the Bankfield branch. Coal and water points would be in the various BR yards, so the engines could stay out for days, if need be. The primary job was to shunt the yards and work traffic to and from the Dock Railway.
The short wheelbase 'pugs' were introduced by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1891 and lasted into the 1960's.
This company introduced an 0-6-0 shunting tank engine in 1897. These were large beasts, compared to the 'pugs' and could shift huge loads. One driver said that the things gobbled coal and water, like it was going out of fashion!!! A pic of one shows the size.
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