OO Gauge Peckett No. 1631 ‘Marcia’

The Peckett No. 1631 ‘Marcia’ has a fascinating history spanning more than a century, from its industrial working life to its preservation on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

The first standard-gauge Peckett ‘1287’ class locomotive was built in 1919. Weighing just over 12 tons, these compact locomotives featured 8” x 12” cylinders, measured only 15 feet in length and were capable of moving around 185 tons on the level.

The second and final locomotive of the class, No. 1631, emerged from Peckett & Sons’ Atlas Works in 1923 and was supplied new to Constable’s (Matlock Quarries) Ltd. The company operated the Cawdor and Station Quarries at Matlock, producing crushed limestone, much of which was used for road construction.

Following the economic downturn, the quarries closed and No. 1631 moved north in 1932 to Marcus Bain Ltd.’s Ballochmyle Quarry in Dumfriesshire. The quarry produced building stone and operated a small internal railway system alongside the Glasgow & South Western Railway main line.

During the 1930s, Ballochmyle Quarry attempted to compete with increasingly inexpensive common building bricks by producing its own bricks from waste material mixed with lime. No. 1631 was acquired to work these facilities, although the new bricks were reportedly too soft to be commercially successful, eventually leading to the closure of the works.

By 1943, No. 1631 was once again unemployed and was sold to the West of Scotland Shipbreaking Co. at Troon. As there was no internal railway system at the site, it appears that the locomotive was initially destined for scrap.

Fortunately, she was soon resold to the Manchester Oxide Co. Ltd. The locomotive was presumably considered worth retaining in working order, particularly with locomotives in short supply during the wartime period.

No. 1631 was put to work shunting the company's internal railway system near Pendleton and was first recorded there on 7 November 1943. By 1948, Manchester Oxide had been taken over by the long-established Manchester chemical company Hardman & Holden Ltd.

The little Peckett appears to have been particularly well regarded by her new owners. She was eventually given the name Marcia, in honour of Marcia Clayton, the wife of the company's managing director. She remained at the same site for approximately two decades.

In July 1963, Marcia left Pendleton for Kent, having travelled virtually the length of Britain during her working life.

Hardman & Holden generously donated the locomotive to the fledgling Kent & East Sussex Railway. Several railway members, including Richard ‘Dick’ Beckett, visited Marcia and made arrangements for her transfer to Tenterden.

Marcia arrived at the K&ESR in the spring of 1963 still wearing a faded mid-green industrial livery. With only around two weeks remaining on her boiler ticket, she was steamed for the first time at her new home the following weekend.

Over the following years, Marcia was used for members’ AGM days and public events. By 1964 she had received attention from the railway and was repainted in a dark blue livery lined in red, inspired by the original K&ESR locomotive colours. She also carried K&ESR No. 12 on her tank sides, continuing the numbering system used by the railway's original locomotives.

In 1965, the K&ESR required funds for larger locomotives for the planned expansion of the railway. Rather than see Marcia leave the railway, Dick Beckett personally purchased her, taking responsibility for the locomotive and her care for more than half a century.

Marcia continued to see occasional use over the following years, with maintenance and overhauls undertaken as required. During the 1970s she was repainted into a lined apple-green livery, again echoing the colours associated with the original K&ESR locomotives.

A particularly notable moment came in 1981 when Marcia became the first preserved locomotive to work from Rolvenden to Bodiam, hauling a small train as part of the ‘Bodiam in Steam’ event. She also became something of a roving ambassador for the railway, appearing at county shows and other events.

In 1985, Marcia failed her annual boiler inspection and was subsequently laid up pending a major overhaul. She would remain out of regular service for several decades before finally returning to traffic in 2011.

Her return to service was not to be permanent, however. During a visit to the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme in France, the K&ESR's twinned railway, a further boiler problem was identified. Marcia was once again withdrawn from service following her return to the UK.

Extensive boiler work began in 2020 and was completed in 2022. Marcia returned to traffic and appeared on a small number of trains during that year.

Sadly, Dick Beckett passed away in March 2023 and Marcia was subsequently offered for sale.

In June 2024, the locomotive was purchased jointly by Rapido Trains UK and Andy Hardy, Rapido Trains UK's Managing Director and a long-standing volunteer driver at the K&ESR. The purchase ensured that this much-loved locomotive could remain at her long-term home on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

Following appearances at several events, including a visit to the Historic Dockyard Chatham, Marcia entered an intermediate overhaul at the end of the 2025 season. She is currently undergoing a full repaint, with the aim of returning to service for the 2027 season.

The planned restoration will see Marcia return as close as possible to her original appearance, including the Peckett livery she has not carried for around 75 years.

Rapido Trains UK OO Gauge Peckett No. 1631 ‘Marcia’

This highly detailed OO Gauge model of Peckett No. 1631 ‘Marcia’ is being produced in a selection of liveries representing different periods of the locomotive's working and preservation history.

Alongside historically based versions, the range also includes a couple of colourful fictional liveries, ideal for modellers creating industrial or light railway layouts.

Despite its diminutive size, the model features an impressive level of detail and tooling variation. Different versions feature variations including tanks, boilers, whistles, cab backs, buffers and lubricators. Selected models also include features such as an interior bunker, vacuum pipes and front steps.

The mechanism features a coreless motor designed for smooth running, supplemented by a MoPower stay-alive capacitor.

Other features include:

• Factory-fitted speaker
• E24 DCC decoder socket
• Front and rear NEM 363 coupler pockets
• Pre-fitted painted name and number plates
• Etched alternative name and number plates for additional authenticity
• A selection of optional detail parts for further personalisation
• Numerous tooling variations across the range

For enthusiasts of industrial locomotives and the Kent & East Sussex Railway, this is a particularly appealing model. Marcia is an unusually characterful prototype, with a working life that took her from quarries and chemical works to preservation — and ultimately made her one of the best-known small locomotives associated with the K&ESR.