This is the sole surviving Hibberd mines-type loco – but Apedale is the closest its ever come to a mine! It was delivered on 29/9/1954 to the Imperial Smelting Corporation at Avonmouth, Bristol. The railway here was used to move newly cast ingots of zinc around the site. By August 1972, the railway was redundant, and the loco had moved to the yard of ME Engineering, a railway dealer at Cricklewood. ME moved to Neasden in 1978, and took the loco with them. It continued to lie in the yard until ME closed and it moved to Alan Keef Ltd in January 1989. It was finally saved for preservation and moved to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway on 16/6/1989. It is currently missing the engine, and represents a challenging restoration project. However, it is a unique and most interesting example of a very rare design.
