 In 1948 the railway’s motive power took a step towards the future with the building of a petrol-electric loco of wheel arrangement with a tender, built to look like Gresley’s famous LNER Class A4 locomotives.The loco was built in Southport by Mr. Harry Barlow who had taken over the railway in 1945.These were the first of eight 15-inch gauge diesel-electric locomotives built by Barlow for a variety of railways.