Heritage Railway – August 01, 2019

GCRawarded custodyof

Oliver Cromwell by NRM

ByRobin Jones

ASWIDELYpredictedfor se veralmonth s,
the GreatCentra lRailway(GCR)has
been namedast he new custodian
of BR BritanniaPacifi cNo. 70013
Oliver Cromwell.
TheGCR and the NationalRailway
Museum have agreed atwo-year
overhaul loan agreementwhich
pavesthe waytoreturn the steam
icon to running order,both on
heritage lines and on the national
network.The museum chose the
GCR bidforthe locomotiveoverthat
of Loughborough-based the 5305
LocomotiveAssoc iati on, No.70013’s
long-time custodian.
However, the association,led
by chief engineerTomTighe,will
still be heavily involved in the
plannedoverhaul.
Theagreementbegan on July 12
and will run untilDecember 31.
Under the deal,the GCR will submit a
plan to overhaul the engine and once
agreed andcompleted,asecond loan

agreementwill beconfirmedto cover

the operation of the locomotive.

Although the details of the planned

overhaul aresubjecttochange,itis

believedwork will take placeatthe

Grea tCentralRailway usin gin-house

engineeringresources.

No significantmechanical or

cosmetic changes areplanned as part

of theoverhaul and the preciseterms

of the operational loan agreement

areyet to be confirmed.

NRM head curator and assistant

directorAndrew McLean said:“This

loan agreementisinkeeping with

the aims of theScienceMuseum

Group’s OperationalRail Vehicle

Strategy,which reaffirms our

commitmenttorunning historically

significantenginesat heritage

railways andonthe main line.

“Oliver Cromwellhas enjoyeda

very successful period of operation,

it is popular,wellmaintained and

occupiesaunique position in UK

railway history forhauling the last

steam-powere dpassenger train on

BR in 1968.Iamexcited about the

prospectofseeing it back in steam.”

GCR managing directorMichael

Gough said:“Weare ve ry proud that

No.70013 willbe stayingat the Great

Centra land lookforwardtothe day

when it will,onceagain,graceour

metals.The GCR hasatremendous

pedigreeofl ocomotiverestoration

and maintenance, includingOliver

Cromwelland we aredelighted

thatthe NRM hasrecognised this

in its selection of the locomotive’s

homeforthe next fewyears.”

Followingrestor ation at

Loughborough, theCrewe, 1951-built

NationalCollection engine hauled its

first passenger services on the GCR

on May3,2008. It made an

appearanceatthe NationalRailway

Museum’s 1968 andAllThatevent

celebrating 40years sincethe end of

steam, and first main line passenger

chartersince1968came onAugust 10,

2008 when ittook partinarerun of

the‘Fifteen Guinea Special.’

TheGreatCentralRailway hasbeenchosento returniconic‘FifteenGuinea

Special’starNo.70013Oliver Cromwelltorunningorder.NRM

PatriottobecompletedatButterley

THE LMS-Patriot Companyboard
hasawarded thecontr actto
completeNo. 5551TheUnknown
Warriorto the PrincessRoyalClass
LocomotiveTrust(PRCL T).
Theboard’sdecisionto
choose the PRCLT, basedat
the West Shedat the Midland
Railway-Butterley,froma
shortlist of threewasbased
around the abilitytoestablish a
goodworking relationship with
the contra ctor with the clear
understanding thatithas to be
aflexiblearrangement to meet
all the challenges thatproject
faces.
Companychairman
David Bradshawsaid: “Our
partnership with the PRCLTwill
see the successfulcompletion
of the new NationalMemorial
Engine.The PRCLThas excellent
facilities and theirexpertise will
help ensurethatTheUnknown
Warrioris finishedto the
highest possible standardsfor
main line running.”
PRCLTchief mechanical
engineer SimonScot said:“We
lookforwardtoasuccessful
partnership with the LMS-
Patriot Companythatwill see
the completion of this fantastic
projectand the steaming of the
new Patriot .”
Theproject’s engineering
team and the PRCLTare
currently assessing the
outstanding tasks with

Picturedare(fromleft)Steve Blackburn,theLMS-PatriotCompany

engineeringdirector; AndyCollinson,chairmanofLMS-Patriot

Enterprises(PatriotTradingCompany); SimonScott,CMEoft hePRCLT;

KevinWest,CMEofTheLMS-PatriotProjectandNigelBarber, from

thePRCLT,standin ginf rontofNo. 5551TheUnknownWarriorat Crewe

HeritageCentreonJuly10.BOBSWEET/LMSPC

Fire wrecksStrathspey

Railway workshop

THE StrathspeyRailway’s Boat of Garten

workshophas beenseverely damagedbyfire.

Itwasreportedthatthefi re startedinanearby

workshed,around250yardsfromthestation.

Around35nearbyhomesandtheadjacentgolf

clubwere evacuatedascrews from Carrbridge,

Grantown-on-Spey, Tomintoul,Kingu ssieand

Aviemoretackledtheblazewhichbrokeout

around1.30pmonMonday, July15.

Services were alsohaltedontheheritageline

whilethefirewasta ckled .Nobodywasinjured.

TheScottishFire andRescueService’sRobbie

MacDougallsaid:“Thiswasachallengingincident

whichrequiredthecarefulmanagementofr isks

to protectthepublic,includingtheevacuationof

nearbyhomesandtheclosureofn earbyrailway

lines,asaprecaution.”

Arailway spokesmandeclinedto comment

whileaninvestigationwasunderway.

ThedamagedBoatofGartenworkshop.

ANDREWDICK/SCOTTISHFIRE&RESCUESERVICE

the resourcesthatwill be

availableto determine the

final programme ofwork

thatisrequired to complete

the locomotive. Thechassis

will then be movedtoWest

Shed imminently.

Thefinal stage of the

construction is essentially an

assembly job,with most of

the largecomponents having

been sourced, manufactured,

delivered and already

fitted.The boiler is the final

outstanding and largest

assemblyto be completed,

withwork cont inuing on itby

anothercontractor.

TheLMS-Patriot Projecthas

so farraised morethan £3

million, but still needsto ra ise

fundsto finish the locomotive,

the tender,main line running

gear andto purchase a

supportcoach.

➜Donationscan be made

by sendingacheque to:

TheLMS-PatriotCompanyLtd.,

TheHub,17Eastgate Street,

StaffordST16 2LZ, cal ling01785

244156 orby dona ting onlineat:

http://www.lms-patriot.org.uk

Writetous:Heritage Railway,MortonsMediaLtd,POBox43,Horncastle, LincsLN 96 LZ. eritagerailway.co.uk 21