Donors help bring Bideford plates home
BIDEFORD Railway Heritage Centre’s volunteers and members were delighted when their bid at the
Crewe auction was successful.
They purchased a full nameplate set together with the smokebox numberplate from Southern Railway Bulleid ‘West Country’ Pacific No. 34019 Bideford for display in the town.
Heritage Centre chairman Andrew Mills said: “A massive thanks to all who supported us, the Bideford Bridge Trust, private donors, large and small, it would not have been possible without you. It has been the culmination of a 25-year ambition for us to return the plates to the town, we even have one member who was present at the original naming ceremony!”
Curator Clive Fairchild explained: “Bideford was one of the few West Country towns that did not have its West Country Class nameplate and it had been our intention for many years to find one for the town, not only for BRHC but also for the benefit of the whole town.
“It has always been a missing part of Bideford’s heritage.
We are currently developing plans for displaying the plates to the public.”
The plates will be delivered to the restored Bideford station, when Covid restrictions allow, by auctioneer Neil Booth, and presented to Bideford station manager Lewis Andrews with mayor Peter Christie also present.