This diminutive machine was delivered to the Alton Brewery of John Courage by the Hunslet Engine Company in July 1935. Shortly after this, the brewery changed over to road transport and 1786 saw little use. For some reason Courage's waited over thirty years before deciding to dispose of it, and they wished it to go to a preservation society rather than to the scrapyard. The locomotive was delivered to Middleton by rail, loaded on to a 'Lowmac'. It was the second loco to be delivered by this method, 68153 being the first.
The engine is a Lister 2-cylinder developing 22 h.p at 1200 r.p.m., starting being accomplished by nothing more sophisticated than a starting handle! Its lack of power and adhesive weight restricts its use to engineering trains and lightweight shunting although it worked the 'All Line Tour' passenger trains at our 40th Anniversary Gala in June 2000 with a little help from John Alcock. It was purchased from the Leeds University Union Railway and Transport Society , and carries the name Courage in honour of its previous owners. In May 1994, the loco visited the Mid Hants Railway near its old home at Alton and, appropriately, spent some time on display parked outside the Engine Inn there, which bears a painting of Courage as its sign.