Peter Leslie Beet (17 February 1937 – 28 October 2005) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s.
Early years and education
Raised in
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
on the edge of the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
, close to the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
's
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
, he was educated in
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
, close to the
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
's
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
. He attended medical school in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, where on the weekends he would visit
Tebay
Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 in the 2001 census, increasing to 776 at th ...
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
, Lancashire, in 1964.
Preservation work
Beet first tried to save the
Sir William Stanier
Sir William Arthur Stanier, (27 May 1876 – 27 September 1965) was a British railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
Biography
Sir William Stanier was born in Swindon, where h ...
-designed
Coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
46243 ''City of Lancaster,'' but was unsuccessful. He then tried to save the
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
History
Formation
In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...
's Lakeside branch line, chairing the Lakeside Railway Estates Company. However, he was able to save an Ivatt Class 2 Mogul No. 46441 from being scrapped. He also managed to save
LMS Black 5
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were num ...
Barbara Castle
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...
, the need to widen the
A590 road
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.River Leven, meant that the complete vision was unsuccessful, but the company saved , albeit isolated from the main network, to create the
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England.
Location
The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are ...
from 1973. He also purchased
LMS Jubilee Class 5690 Leander
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Jubilee Class No. 5690 (BR No. 45690) ''Leander'' is a preserved British steam locomotive.
Operational history
5690 was built at Crewe in March 1936 and named ''Leander'' after HMS ''Leander'', ...
from Brian Oliver in 1972. He also saved one German tank engine and five Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 saddle tank engines, one of which is still owned by his son.
However, not all of Dr. Beet's attempts at preserving steam locomotives were successful. Aside from the failed attempt to LMS Coronation Class No. 46243 C''ity of Lancaster'', which was his most well-known unsuccessful preservation attempt. He tried to purchase LMS Fowler 2-6-4T No. 42414 and LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42210 which had served as banking engines in Terby. He also tried to save LMS Ivatt Mogul No. 46400, which was the first member of the class, but that was attempt was ultimately unsuccessful. He also tried to save LNER Peppercorn Class A1 No. 60158 ''Aberdonian'' which ended in failure. There are also unconfirmed reports of him trying to rescue LMS Coronation Class No. 46255 ''City of Hereford'', LMS Ivatt Prairie Tank Engine No. 41286 and LMS Rebuilt Patriot Class No. 45526 ''Morecambe and Heysham''.
Still looking to preserve mainline locomotives, Beet was instrumental in saving 23. Realising that there would be a need for maintenance and servicing, in 1968 he successfully acquired a lease on the LMS 10A shed at
Carnforth
Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...
, creating the attraction of Steamtown from 1968, funded by industrialist and fellow steam enthusiast
Sir William McAlpine, 6th Baronet
Sir William Hepburn McAlpine, 6th Baronet, (12 January 1936 – 4 March 2018) was a British businessman who was director of the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine.
Early life and career
Born in London in 1936 at the family-owned Dorches ...
. Originally planned to be the maintenance base for the L&HR, it became the base for some of the first private mainline preserved trains, operating from Carnforth to
Sellafield
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. The venture closed as a public access visitor attraction in 1997, some years after the preserved site was taken over by businessman David Smith to become the base for his
West Coast Railways
West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the comp ...
(WCR).
After the
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...
decided to sell their
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
5690 ''Leander'', Beet bought the locomotive and had it restored at the
East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street railway station, Bury Bolton Street, ...
. Still owned by his family, it is now operated by WCR from Carnforth.