West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the company became the first privately owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company.
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class, is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed under Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed-traffic duties. 55 were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design employed results from the 1948 locomotive exchanges undertaken in advance of further locomotive classes being constructed. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan.
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.
LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley is a preserved British steam locomotive built by Doncaster Works for the London & North Eastern Railway in 1937.
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 There were 80 in the class, all built at the Swindon works, using some reconditioned parts from withdrawn 4300 Class locomotives.
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Jubilee Class No. 5690Leander is a preserved British steam locomotive.
GWR Hall Class 5952 Cogan Hall was built at Swindon in December 1935. As a mixed traffic engine it handled both passenger duties and freight duties. Its first shed allocation was the Penzance depot in Cornwall. In August 1950 it moved to Old Oak Common. During this time it was fitted with a three row superheater. In March 1959 it moved again to the Worcester depot. Its last shed allocation was to Cardiff East Dock before it was withdrawn from duties in June 1964.
Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5231 is a preserved British steam locomotive. In preservation, it has carried the names 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and The Sherwood Forester, though it never carried either of these in service.
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, specific sections of railway track, the locomotive hauling the train, the rolling stock, or any combination of these. Organisers may own or hire locomotives or rolling stock, or tours may be organised by railway management or other bodies outside the railway fraternity. Perhaps the most famous railtour in England was the Fifteen Guinea Special, the last steam hauled main line train run by British Rail. Railtours are often identifiable through the use of a train headboard, often identifying the name of the specific tour or the tour operator. On TOPS, railtours are always given a 1Zxx headcode.
The Deltic Preservation Society is a railway preservation group based in England. The society is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the remaining Class 55 "Deltic" diesel locomotives operated by British Rail from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is only 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Shrewsbury town centre, situated in countryside just beyond the Shrewsbury bypass and near the A458.
The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) is a national society founded in Cheltenham, England in 1928 to bring together those interested in rail transport and locomotives.
No.6880 Betton Grange is a steam locomotive which is under construction 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. 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.
A headboard is a board hung on the front of a locomotive. Generally it can depict a named train. Headboards are distinct from locomotive nameplates.
Despite the advent of electric and diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century, steam locomotives continued to be used and constructed into the 21st century. The use of steam locomotives in regular non-tourist revenue service concluded in 2022.
LMS Stanier Class 5MT 4932, is a preserved British steam locomotive. It is one of 18 surviving members of the Black 5 class which had 842 members constructed by five manufacturers. 44932 is the sole remaining member of the class which was built at the LMS's Horwich Works.
The Cathedrals Express was a named passenger express introduced in 1957 on the Western Region of British Railways. It connected the cathedral cities of Hereford and Worcester to London Paddington.
No.5551 The Unknown Warrior is a replica LMS Patriot Class steam locomotive which is under construction in the Midland Railway – Butterley's West Shed.
