{"id":24498,"date":"2024-04-03T09:37:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T23:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=24498"},"modified":"2024-04-03T09:37:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T23:37:10","slug":"last-visiting-locomotive-announced-for-cotswold-festival-of-steam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=24498","title":{"rendered":"Last visiting locomotive announced for Cotswold Festival of Steam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) <\/a>has announced the last visiting locomotive for its Costwold Festival of Steam, which will run from 25 to 27 May 2024 between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway.<\/p>\n

The visitor is the West Somerset Railway\u2019s unique 2-6-0 tender locomotive no. 9351, which is a brand-new conversion from \u2018Prairie\u2019 2-6-2T tank locomotive no. 5193.<\/p>\n

This brings the number of newly-built steam locomotives appearing at the event to three. GWSR added that it would be the first time three newly-built steam locomotives have appeared in steam together on a heritage railway.<\/p>\n

The \u2018new builds\u2019 are:<\/p>\n

West Somerset Railway\u2019s unique 2-6-0 \u2018Mogul\u2019 no. 9351, converted from a 5101-class 2-6-2T tank locomotive, completed in 2004.<\/p>\n

Didcot Railway Centre replica \u2018Saint\u2019 class 4-6-0 no. 2999 Lady of Legend, completed in 2019. 77 members of the \u2018Saint\u2019 class were built between 1902 and 1913, none survived with the last being scrapped in 1953.<\/p>\n

\u2022 6880 Grange Society replica \u2018Grange\u2019 class 4-6-0 no. 6880 Betton Grange, completed in April 2024. 80 members of the \u2018Grange\u2019 class were built between 1936 and 1939, the last being withdrawn and scrapped in 1965.<\/p>\n

The three locomotives have been chosen to fit the event\u2019s theme, \u2018Western Workhorses\u2019, and join the GWSR\u2019s own fleet of two-cylinder Great Western Railway-designed locomotives.<\/p>\n

GWSR added that this is also the first time all existing GWR two-cylinder 4-6-0 types have appeared together. The \u2018Saint\u2019 and \u2018Grange\u2019 will join the railway\u2019s home-based \u2018Modified Hall\u2019 class no. 7903 Foremarke Hall, a design developed by Swindon Works from the \u2018Saint\u2019; and \u2018Manor\u2019 class no. 7820 Dinmore Manor, a smaller and lighter version of the \u2018Grange\u2019. All these types once regularly worked over the line on which the GWSR today operates.<\/p>\n

This is 2-6-0 no. 9351\u2019s third visit to a railway other than the West Somerset; over the past 20 years, it has also made two visits to Severn Valley Railway.<\/p>\n

Tom Willson, Chairman of the event organising team, said: \u201cThis is shaping up to be one of the most spectacular and ambitious Cotswold Festival of Steam events to date: not only the first event to have three new-build Great Western designed locomotives at the same time. I\u2019m so pleased that no. 9351 is coming to the Festival, its first visit to the GWSR and only the second railway other than the West Somerset it has ever visited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Hiscox, Deputy Head of Mechanical Engineering at the West Somerset Railway, added: \u201cOur \u2018Mogul\u2019 no 9351 was converted from a tank locomotive in order to provide greater water and coal capacity on our long and steeply-graded railway and it has been very successful. In fact, it is a type that Swindon\u2019s chief mechanical engineer, G J Churchward, designed and was also considered by his successor C B Collet, but never built. So in that sense, it fills a gap in Great Western Railway history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to see our engine visit the Cotswolds \u2013 that it is joining two other newly-built locomotives makes the occasion even more special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home fleet locomotives planned to appear at the event include Churchward 28xx class 2-8-0 heavy-freight locomotive no. 2807, which having been built in 1905 is the oldest Great Western-designed locomotive in working order. Its successor, 2884 class 2-8-0 no. 3850, is close to the end of an extensive overhaul started at Toddington in 2015 and will run if completed in time. This could be its first public appearance since overhaul.<\/p>\n

Tom added: \u201cThis spectacular show is a real feast of Great Western two-cylinder power.\u00a0 These types of locomotives were the real \u2018Western Workhorses\u2019 handling both freight and passenger traffic throughout the Great Western Railway\u2019s network.\u00a0It\u2019s a unique opportunity to enjoy such a variety of motive power that recall the locomotives that once could be seen day in, day out on the railway we now call the GWSR.\u00a0 And, uniquely, it\u2019s the first time that all types of GWR two-cylinder 4-6-0s locomotives will have appeared together.\u201d \u00a0He added, however, that all locomotives are subject to availability at the time.<\/p>\n

The final home fleet locomotive appearing, bringing the total to an expected eight, is the large and popular Toddington-based Southern Railway three-cylinder Merchant Navy class pacific no. 35006 Peninsular & Oriental SN Co,<\/em> which once handled the heaviest expresses between London Waterloo and Exeter \u2013 making it very much the \u2018odd man out\u2019 at the Festival.<\/p>\n

\u2018Early Bird\u2019 tickets are available until 22 April on the GWSR\u2019s website at https:\/\/gwsr.vticket.co.uk\/section.php\/173\/1\/<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) has announced the last visiting locomotive for its Costwold Festival of Steam, which will run from 25 to 27 May […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":24499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[7,11],"class_list":["post-24498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-transport","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t