Founded in 1992 as Ian Riley Engineering, the company has been a leader in main line steam haulage, being one of the pioneers of fitting air brake, TPWS and OTMR equipment to steam locomotives.
Having originally been based at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury, in 2016 it moved to Heywood.
[1] In the early 2000s, Ian Riley Engineering operated as a spot-hire company purchasing five Class 37s diesel locomotives (37038, 37197, 37235, 37261 and 37423) from EWS.
[5][6] In January 2006, work began at the National Railway Museum on an overhaul of Flying Scotsman that was expected to take 18-20 months and cost £1.6 million.
[11] In 2006, the company worked on the rebuilding of GWR 4900 Class locomotive 4942 Maindy Hall to 2999 Lady of Legend.