‘B1’ no-show at Severn Valley gala

Thompson ‘B1’ No. 1264 will no longer be attending the Severn Valley Railway’s forthcoming ‘Spring Steam Gala’ on March 16-18.


Outshopped in LNER lined black for the first time, ‘B1’ No. 1264 glistens in the sun outside Grosmont shed, on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. MARK O’BRIEN

The LNER 4-6-0, which has recently been outshopped in LNER lined black for the first time in preservation (see SR476), was confirmed to be joining the gala line-up in November last year, but owing to ongoing winter maintenance, the locomotive will not be available for the three-day event.

In a statement, the SVR said: “The Thompson B1 Locomotive Trust indicated that although the winter maintenance work has been completed, there are still some jobs left to undertake before the locomotive would be fit to visit other heritage railways or work over Network Rail.

“This announcement will not affect the movement of ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and Tornado is expected to arrive at the Severn Valley Railway on Wednesday as planned.”

The new-build Peppercorn ‘Pacific’ will be joined by visiting ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II (which is currently having its new draughting arrangements tested over the SVR) and Haydock Foundry 0-6-0WT Bellerophon. BR ‘4MT’ No. 80072, which has been on-loan to the SVR over the Christmas period, will also be in attendance, as well as members of the SVR’s home fleet.

It is understood that another locomotive will replace No. 1264 and take over its booked diagrams during the gala.

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