Railway Models UK

Ellis Clark Trains have announced the release of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Class 21 'Pug' in both O gauge and OO gauge formats. This iconic industrial locomotive is set to be a popular addition to many model railway layouts.

The L&Y Pug is one of the most recognisable 0-4-0 tank engines from the steam era. With 57 locomotives entering service between 1891 and 1910, it remained hard at work until the 1960s. Today, two examples are preserved - one at the East Lancashire Railway, the other at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

The first was built at Horwich Works in 1891, and production continued until 1910 with 57 locomotives entering service. Originally known as the 1153 Class, the type was reclassified as Class 21 in 1920.

Following the 1923 Grouping, all were inherited by the LMS, where they remained hard at work far beyond their original territories – often found shunting in factories, power stations, and sidings across the UK. Remarkably, several survived into the 1960s, outlasting many early diesel shunters.

Although the Pugs were built to a standard design, various regional modifications were made during their working lives, including:

Smoke deflectors for operation beneath the Liverpool Overhead Railway or inside warehouses
Bells connected to the inside motion for shared road-rail spaces
Spark arresters for Pugs working in the Ormskirk munitions factory during WWI
Different buffer types, including sprung round buffers and wood-and-rubber 'dumb' buffers