K&WVR Steam Gala 19-22 March 2026

An excellent gala once again!

Can someone just remind me of the reason for a limit on visiting locos? Is it a height or weight restriction, on which bridge?

For example the railway has never seen visitors like Tornado, an A4, 71000...the list goes on. TIA

 

Could be cost, Tornado certainly won’t be cheap and Pacifics aren’t really suitable for a five mile branch line. I’m not sure if the runaround at Oxenhope is long enough for a Pacifics

 

It is - I have photographs of 70013 on the line taken on 13/02/2009 and 11/03/2018.

 

Didn’t 9F 92220 Evening Star visit many many years ago, can’t get longer than that loco

 

Yes

 

Loaned to the K&WVR from 1973 to 1975. Had a splendid trip up to Oxehope and back behind her late one day on an otherwise almost empty train.

 

60009 visited on more than one occasion and 60532 at least once. I can remember seeing them in Haworth or Ingrow yards but not actually working trains. I also understand that the headshunt at Oxenhope is to be extended in the near future.

 

Ahem... 34046? 34092 was based there for many years too.

 

Yes I’d forgotten about them but they are a bit shorter than a Gresley Pacific

 

Coupled Black 5s will fit (just!)

 

According to the latest edition of Rail,Bradford City Council have given £5million government grant to KWVR ,that includes a loop at Oxenholme.Sorry edit Haworth

 

60103 has also visited, although she operated trains top-and-tailed IIRC.

 

The way I've heard it is that Tornado or an A4 are too heavy. Union of South Africa has been to Haworth once but they had to get special permission to allow it as a one off.

All the same it confuses me all this as Scotsman has run on the line and surely that'd be similar weight to Tornado?

 

So will a pair of 5Xs, as seen here at the 2023 gala - mind you the the driver had to gently nudge the stop blocks to do it, but that it what they are there for after all
Peter

 

Length over buffers 9F 66ft 2 ins, Britannia 68ft 9 ins.
FS and Tornado are longer still.

 

And a Lord Nelson, with its long wheelbase tender, is quoted by SR e-group as 69ft 9¾in.

 

Ooops!! sorry all should have checked the loco lenghs before putting pen to paper as we used to say