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7802 Bradley Manor is a 7800 'Manor' Class 4-6-0 steam locomotive. Built by the Great Western Railway at its Swindon Works in January 1938 it had an operating life of 27 years being withdrawn in November 1965. Designed by Charles Collett, it is one of nine of the class to be preserved and is currently based on the Severn Valley Railway.
After leaving Swindon it was sent to Old Oak Common TMD being transferred to Bristol Bath Road TMD in 1939. Like most of its class it eventually ended up on the Cambrian section, arriving at Machynlleth in 1946 where it stayed until its final transfer to Shrewsbury in 1964. Withdrawn from service in November 1965 it was sent to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in July 1966.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(August 2017) |
It was rescued from Barry in 1979 by the 'Erlestoke Manor Fund' based at the Severn Valley Railway originally as spare parts for 7812 Erlestoke Manor. However the owners had a change of heart and in 1983 the decision was taken to return 7802 to steam. [2] This was accomplished in 1993 and since then has given excellent service on the Severn Valley Railway, West Somerset Railway and on various main line excursions.
Bradley Manor was withdrawn for overhaul in August 2000, and to help speed up the process it was given the boiler of preserved classmate Erlestoke Manor which was already partially restored. [3] The work on Bradley Manor continued with it first moving under its own steam on 12 March 2002 and entering service for the Severn Valley Railway later in the year. [4] It completed over 9,000 miles during the 2000 season with almost continuous daily service. In 2005, 7802 was featured in the Disney movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe , in the scenes passing through the countryside. [5] [6] [7]
The summer of 2003 saw Bradley Manor haul a number of trains in August under the name Torbay Express . Promoted by Past-Time Rail, the itinerary was Bristol Temple Meads to Kingswear and return. The originally planned four trains were so popular a fifth was added in September. Bradley Manor developed a hot axle box on the first run on 10 August and so was unable to haul the next two outings which saw 5051 Earl Bathurst step in. However Bradley Manor returned for the 31 August and 7 September trips. On commenting about the success of the Torbay Express, Past-Time Rail director Andy Staite said that "Bradley Manor was the 'right' motive power for the line - Newton Abbot shed had 'Manors' in steam days and they were a familiar sight on the South Devon Coast route." [8]
In April 2007 new Network Rail standards were introduced requiring all preserved steam locomotives to be fitted with On-train monitoring recorders (OTMR) before they could run on the main line. So halfway through its latest main line certificate the owners decided the cost of returning 7812 Erlestoke Manor to steam and fitting OTMR to 7802 was just too much. Bradley Manor did receive a stay of execution and could run on the main line until the end of 2007, after which, it was restricted to heritage railway use only, running up to February 2011, when issues with the boiler saw it withdrawn for overhaul early, though work on a further overhaul started almost immediately.
In November 2015, 7802 re-entered traffic after an overhaul shared between Bridgnorth works and Tyseley locomotive works. A new 3500 gallon Churchward tender is being built at Tyseley which will eventually replace the 4000 gallon Collett tender used by 7802 in preservation. In March 2018 7802 was paired with 3500 gallon Churchward tender T2334 from 7812 Erlestoke Manor following the latter's withdrawal for overhaul. [9]
Agreement was reached in May 2019 to send 7802 to the West Somerset Railway until early October 2019, with 6960 Raveningham Hall coming to the SVR for at least a similar period. [10] The swap was necessitated by an axle-weight restricted by the West Somerset Railway on its locomotives with the GWR 6959_Class Raveningham Hall being too heavy. 7802 suffered a broken piston rod in July 2019 and was moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works on 30 July 2019 for assessment. [11]
The location of 7802 Bradley Manor on particular dates. [12]
| First shed | Old Oak Common |
| August 1939 | Bristol Bath Road |
| April 1946 | Machynlleth |
| February 1954 | Shrewsbury |
| Last Shed | Shrewsbury |
| Withdrawn | November 1965 |
The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England, named after the company that originally built the railway over which it now operates. The 16-mile (26 km) heritage line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn along the Severn Valley for much of its route, and crossing the river on the historic Victoria Bridge.
5051 Drysllwyn Castle is a Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1936 and named after Dryslwyn Castle. It is owned by the Didcot Railway Centre.
The Great Western Railway 4900 Class or Hall Class is a class of 4-6-0 mixed-traffic steam locomotives designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway. A total of 259 were built at Swindon Works, numbered 4900–4999, 5900–5999 and 6900–6958. The LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 and LNER Thompson Class B1 both drew heavily on design features of the Hall Class. After nationalisation in 1948, British Railways gave them the power classification 5MT.
The LMS Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive primarily designed for medium freight work but also widely used on secondary passenger services. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) ordered 162 of this type between 1947 and 1952, but only three were built by the LMS before nationalisation in 1948. Designed by George Ivatt, they were classified 4F by the LMS and 4MT by British Railways (BR).
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 7800 Class or Manor Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive. They were designed as a lighter version of the Grange Class, giving them a wider Route Availability. Like the 'Granges', the 'Manors' used parts from the GWR 4300 Class Moguls but just on the first batch of twenty. Twenty were built between 1938 and 1939, with British Railways adding a further 10 in 1950. They were named after Manors in the area covered by the Great Western Railway. Nine are preserved.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6800 Class or Grange Class was a mixed-traffic class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive, built to replace the GWR 4300 Class 2-6-0. There were 80 in the class, all built at the Swindon works, using some reconditioned parts from withdrawn 4300 Class locomotives.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2800 Class is a class of Churchward-designed 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
6024 King Edward I is a preserved Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class steam locomotive operated from 1930 to 1962 by the Great Western Railway and latterly British Railways hauling express passenger services.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) steam locomotive No. 4936 Kinlet Hall is a preserved 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5110 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It has carried the name RAF Biggin Hill in preservation, though it never carried this in service. Number 5110 was built in 1935 by the Vulcan Foundry. It was built with a low-degree superheat domeless boiler and still carries a domeless boiler.
GWR 4073 Class No. 7029 Clun Castle is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1950 to a design by Charles Collett for operation on the Western Region of British Railways. It was named after Clun Castle in Shropshire.
Great Western Railway 7800 Class No. 7821 Ditcheat Manor is a preserved British steam locomotive.
6960 Raveningham Hall is a Great Western Railway, 4-6-0 Modified Hall Class locomotive, built in March 1944 at Swindon Works to a design by Frederick Hawksworth. It is one of six of this class that survive in preservation. The locomotive is named after Raveningham Hall in Norfolk.
7812 Erlestoke Manor is a preserved GWR 7800 Class steam locomotive, operated by the Great Western Railway and later British Railways. Owned by the Erlestoke Manor Fund, as at December 2022 it was in operational condition on the Severn Valley Railway.
4930 Hagley Hall is a Great Western Railway, 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive, built in May 1929 at Swindon Works to a design by Charles Collett. It is one of eleven of this class that made it into preservation. The locomotive is named after Hagley Hall in Worcestershire.
GWR 6800 Class No. 6880 Betton Grangeis a steam locomotive built between 1998 and 2024 as a "new-build" project, originally based on the Llangollen Railway in Denbighshire, Wales, then subsequently at Tyseley Locomotive Works. Described as "building the 81st Grange", the project started in 1998, and the locomotive was earlier expected to be operational by 2013, but subsequently by Autumn 2021, which was then pushed back to 2024. It was expected to be launched under steam in a private member event in January 2024 but was postponed a week before the event. On 11 April 2024, 6880 was steamed up for the first time after more than 25 years of work. All of the original GWR 6800 Class Grange locomotives were withdrawn for scrap by the end of 1965; this project is a creation, from an assemblage of original GWR and newly manufactured components, of a member of this class.
7819 Hinton Manor is a Great Western Railway locomotive part of the Manor Class. It is one of 9 locomotives preserved from the class which originally had 30.
7820 Dinmore Manor is a British Railways locomotive, part of the Manor Class. It is one of nine locomotives preserved from the class, which originally numbered 30.
21C127 Taw Valley is a Southern Railway West Country class 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive that has been preserved. It is presently operational at the Severn Valley Railway.
