Leicestershire volunteers complete eight-year locomotive restoration

The Lord Granby hauled iron ore until the 1960s

A team of volunteers has completed the restoration of a dilapidated steam locomotive once used to haul quarried iron ore.

The Lord Granby was decommissioned in the 1960s and sat rusting in a field for more than 40 years.

However it was acquired by enthusiasts in Leicestershire who spent the last eight years rebuilding it and restoring it to its former glory.

The engine is to be moved to a new home at the end of April.

Every nut and bolt of the engine was taken apart, cleaned up and put back together

The 1904-built Lord Granby was in service for more than 50 years, carrying ore from the quarries of north-east Leicestershire until road haulage surpassed the railways.

John Wood, from Eastwell History Group, said it was returned to its owners in Leeds but ended up being left out in the open in a field for decades.

Group members interested in the area's quarrying heritage tracked it down and arranged for it to be returned to a workshop in Stathern, Leicestershire.

Mr Wood said: "It was in an appalling state when we got it but you would never know to look at it now.

"We took apart every nut and bolt and put it back together and it looks magnificent. We have guys who can make anything."

The restored engine will be used to help explain the area's industrial heritage

On 29 April, the Lord Granby will be taken by lorry two miles (3.2km) to Eastwell where it will be kept in a restored locomotive shed.

Mr Wood added: "Unfortunately we haven't been able to get it moving under its own stream because we are a history group not a railway group but the team has done an amazing job."

He said the group hoped it would be available for the public to visit and would be a valuable resource for explaining the area's quarrying past.