THIS year's Royal Lancashire Show in Chorley will receive a real blast from the past.

A traction engine which made its debut at the show exactly 100 years ago is now set to return to celebrate its centenary.

The engine, named General Buller after a famous general in the Boer War, was built in 1902 by Charles Burrell and Sons -- one of the world's premier manufacturers of traction engines.

It first appeared at the show in 1902 and was used at local farms for threshing and tarring.

For the last 20 years it has been kept in a museum in Norfolk but it is now steaming into the 21st century after being renovated by Philip and Anthony Cowell, of Grimsargh, near Preston.

Two of the engines were bought by agricultural contractor Issac Ball, of Wharles, near Kirkham, and were used extensively at local farms for threshing in the winter and tar spraying in the summer -- including the Three Mile Cross Farm, home of the Cowell family.

General Buller was last used commercially in 1954 and has had a number of owners including enthusiasts in Blackpool and Lytham.

When she was put up for sale last year, the Cowell family were delighted to return it to Lancashire.

Anthony Cowell retubed and relagged the boiler and carried out a number of minor repairs. He runs a business with his father, Philip, supplying welding machinery and diesel generators to the farming industry.

He said: "We thought it would be great to exhibit General Buller at the Royal Lancashire Show, exactly 100 years after she first appeared at one.

"When we collected the engine from the museum in Norfolk, we took a photograph of it outside the factory where she had been made in Ministergate, Thetford. Then she made her journey north again.

"She represents a fascinating piece of local agricultural history. Burrell traction engines were the Rolls Royce machinery of their time and we hope visitors will be able to enjoy her heritage and her beauty."

This year's show takes place at Astley Park, Chorley, on July 26-28, from 9am-6pm.