Motive Power

47799 (Prince Henry)

47799 is one of the once numerous Brush Type 4 class which later became Class 47. It was built at BR Crewe works and entered service in February 1965 as D1654 based at Swansea Landore depot. Although it was allocated to several depots over the next 20 years it remained in the Western Region of British Rail. The first renumbering of the loco took place in February 1974 when it became 47070 and there was a second renumbering, to 47620, in September 1984.

The loco was nameless until being named “Windsor Castle” at Paddington Station on 26th July 1985, the ceremony being carried out by Her Majesty the Queen. This name was retained when the loco was renumbered to 47835 in December 1989, the renumbering indicating the fitting of long range fuel tanks for Inter-City passenger work.

Yet another change occurred in May 1995, when the loco was designated as one of two to be dedicated to Royal Train duties. The name “Windsor Castle” was removed and the loco renamed “Prince Henry” and renumbered to 47799: this naming apparently took place with no ceremony at Crewe Depot! The other Royal Train loco, 47798, was named Prince William and is now in the National Collection.

47799 was used for Royal Trains, VSOE and Pullman Charters and occasional “ordinary” passenger trains until February 2004 when two Class 67 locomotives took over Royal duties. In recent years 47799 was based at Eastleigh and used for providing power and heat to coaching stock at Eastleigh Works.

The locomotive arrived at Warcop in December 2011: a full set of photographs documenting the locomotive’s arrival can be seen in this Smugmug Gallery 

47799 is still in Royal livery but the cast plates with the name, number, company logo, royal crest and “by royal appointment” notice were removed prior to the move to Warcop. The loco is currently undergoing re-wiring and is out of action at the moment.

More detail about 47799 at the Class 47 website

47799 on the day of its arrival at Warcop, 22nd December 2011

47799 in Wild Boar Cutting on 13th April 2013, with the line towards Sandford Bridge in the background.

Diesel Electric Multiple Unit “Thumper” 205009 

Originally built in 1957 at Eastleigh as two car unit 1109 consisting of driving motor brake second open (DMBSO) 60108 and driving trailer composite (DTC) 60808, and classified as a 2H. One of a batch of 18 built for the Portsmouth to Salisbury and Andover service and the Alton to Winchester and Southampton service, increasing passenger numbers meant that a third car was added to each, the TSO added to 1109 being numbered 60658.

When TOPS was introduced 1109 became 205 009 and it continued to work for British Rail and Connex until late 2004 when it was purchased for preservation on the Eden Valley Railway, being delivered in March 2005 by rail via the link between the Eden Valley Railway and the Settle & Carlisle line at Appleby.

205009 is currently in service and operates the majority of passenger services at the Eden Valley Railway. Having been in a dark green livery (on the passenger side, anyway) whcih was applied to cover up the graffiti it received in the south of England when it first arrived at Warcop it has now been repainted into a rather brighter, if non-authentic, livery.

A detailed photographic history of the Class 205 multiple units can be found on the Southern Railway E-mail Group (SREmG) website.

205009 on delivery on the short stretch of the Eden Valley Railway beyond Appleby East Station, alongside Belgravia Yard

205009 accelerating away from Warcop Station in July 2009

205009 carrying a bright new livery in August 2016.

Motor Luggage Vans S68003, S68005 and S68010 

These British Railways Motor Luggage Vans (MLVs) were built at Eastleigh in 1960, design code AF-1A, numbered S68003, S68005 and S68010. The MLVs were later given Class Number 419 and carried numbers 9003, 9005 and 9010.

A detailed history of the MLVs is to be found on the Southern Railway E-mail Group 

S68003 and S68005 have now been at Warcop for quite some time. Since arrival S68005 has had a diesel generator installed which is used to supply power for lighting, heating, compressors and the MG sets of the 4-CEP when used in passenger service, enabling the batteries to power the train. Both MLVs have also had additional batteries installed to ensure there is enough power to complete a full day’s service of journeys to Sandford Bridge and back. Both vehicles have had new batteries installed in recent years and they returned to passenger use in May 2019. More about this at the “Cumbrian Boat Train” page.

The third MLV to arrive at Warcop was S68010, which came from the Wensleydale Railway in 2012 in exchange for a Mark 1 coach. It was decided that 68010, devoid of most of its mechanical and electrical equipment, would be used as the new Emporium at Warcop, and work on the interior took place over the winter of 2012/13 to have the Emporium ready for the start of the 2013 passenger season at Easter.

MLVs 9003 and 9005 in the early days at Warcop

9005 and 9003 propelling 4-CEP 2315 towards Warcop in August 2009 with the exhaust from the diesel generator in 9005 clearly visible

“Darlington” (RSHD8343/1962)

“Darlington” is an 0-6-0 diesel hydraulic shunter built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn Ltd in 1962 to a design of W Bagnall, works number 8343, and it bears a marked similarity to British Rail’s Class 04s. The locomotive initially worked at Coleshill Gas Works in the West Midlands and later moved to Thames Matex of Grays in Essex, remaining there until 2003 as the company name changed to Van Ommeren and then Vopak. The locomotive was purchased from Vopak in 2003 and moved to Warcop that year. The name Darlington was given in 2004, although the name plates were not attached until 2011. “Darlington” was much used as works train loco and site shunter until 2012 when a compressor problem put it out of use. This has now been rectified and the loco is back in working order and in use on works trains.

“Darlington” in the early days at Warcop, still in Vopak livery.

A cold start for “Darlington” on 28th February 2010

21 (Fowler 4220045/1967) 

21 is an 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic locomotive built by John Fowler & Co of Hunslet, Leeds in 1967, works number 4220045. Its working life in industry was at the Shell Refinery at Stanlow before it entered preservation at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It came to Warcop in 1999 and was the first working locomotive on site. Having been out of use and looking somewhat forlorn for some time following two aborted rebuilds it has been thoroughly overhauled and is now back in service, being the standby works locomotive and first choice when we offer “Driver for a Fiver”.

21 seen at Warcop in the company of RSH8343

21 in November 2014, just before restoration began

The newly restored 21 in August 2017

ND3815: Hunslet 2389/1941 

Smallest and oldest of the three locomotives which came to Warcop from the Haig Colliery Museum in 2010 is this 0-4-0 diesel mechanical locomotive built by Hunslet in Leeds in 1941, works number 2389. It went into use at the naval armaments depot (RNAD) at Trecwn in Pembrokeshire and was given the number ND3815 which is still carried on a plate on one side of the loco. It moved to RNAD Broughton Moor in Cumbria in the late 1960s or early 1970s where it remained until the early 1990s when it went into storage at Threlkeld Quarry. By 2000 it had moved to Haig Colliery museum and was restored in time to make an appearance at the Corus 125 event in Workington in 2002. It moved to the Eden Valley Railway in September 2010 and is in full working order, although it’s weight restricts it to light shunting in the yard.

Many thanks to Nigel Attwood and Ken Scanes of the Industrial Railway Society for much of the detail given above.

Thomas Hill 130c just after its arrival at Warcop in September 2010.

The Vanguard at Southfields with a ballast train on 12th February 2012

Drewry Cars 2181/1945 (Vulcan Foundry 5262/1945) 

Third of the locos from the Haig Colliery Museum is known as the Barclay, it having been built to a design of Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock. It was actually built in 1945 by Vulcan Foundry, works number 5262, to an order from Drewry Cars of London who gave it their number 2181.

It was ordered by the War Department during the Second World War but not delivered until after the end of the war. It entered service at Tidworth Camp in Wiltshire, moving in 1956 to one of the MOD sites in the Swindon area. Subsequent moves took the loco to ROF Bishopston near Glasgow and an army depot in Sudbury before an overhaul at Bicester in 1968, at which point a new engine was fitted. It’s next posting was to Stirling where it remained until closure of the site in 1984, being used in removal of materials off the site and then being sold to J McWilliams of Glasgow, a dealer. It remained with J McWilliams and then M & C Metals of Glasgow until 2003. A short period on hire to DRS in Carlisle in 2003 was followed by the move to Haig Colliery Museum in Whitehaven where it remained until September 2010.

Although the loco is in a rather odd shade of undercoat/primer it is operational and has been used during stock shunts at Warcop. After the Vanguard failed in 2014 it was in use as works train locomotive until Fowler 21 was repaired to an operational state in late 2016. Many thanks to Nigel Attwood and Ken Scanes of the Industrial Railway Society for much of the detail given above.

Barclay” down the line on a works train in November 2014

The crane in use at Warcop in the early days of the preservation scheme.

The crane in October 2016, by which time the electrical problems had been resolved and the crane runner frame was being refurbished. Work is still ongoing, with all the runner’s decking currently being replaced.

Wickham Trolley “DE320468” 

Built by Wickham of Ware in 1932, works number 1724, this trolley is fitted with a JAP 1323cc petrol engine. It was sold by British Railways to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 1969. It moved in 2000 to Ian Storey Engineering at Hepscott and arrived at Warcop in 2001. It was out of use for a long time, but one of our mechanical wizards has got it running again although it is rather temperamental.

The number carried is erroneous and was applied at some point in preservation. It has recently been established that our Wickham carried the number 950042 and was considerably older than we had been led to believe when it first arrived.

A fine side view of the Wickham in the early days at Warcop

The Wickham down the line back in the days when grass and weeds proliferated.

The Wickham being turned prior to its first run down the line for many years, in August 2015

Fred 

An invaluable part of the rolling stock, Fred has seen much with the permanent way gang, helping with both the maintenance of the permanent way and the fitness of the gang. It is thought to be of Swedish or Danish origin, possibly dating from the 1970s. Fred received a new coat of paint in 2009 prior to visiting the Churnet Valley Railway for the 9th annual velocipede rally.

Fred parked at Warcop just after the repaint in 2009

Fred at the fence near Old Hall Farm in June 2017 during the Velocipede Rally. More photos of the rally can be seen in the Galleries section.