Thirty years of ‘Fifty’ preservation celebrated
Voluntary group The Class 50 Alliance, owner and operator of six ‘Hoovers’, organised a dinner in Birmingham on March 12, attended by over 100 guests, to celebrate 30 years of guardianship of the classic English Electric machines.
In 1991, the Fifty Fund bought
Nos. 50035 and 50044, while
No. 50031 was bought privately and placed with the group for maintenance and operation. Concurrently, the
Class 50 Society bought No. 50049 and during the intervening years, both groups merged to form the Alliance. Subsequently, the Alliance acquired
No. 50007 and No. 50033 is currently on loan for maintenance and operation.
The Alliance, based at covered accommodation at the Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster, has three locomotives registered for main line operation, which it believes is a ‘first’ for a volunteer body, two of which are on spot-hire to GB Railfreight, and the group suggests its professional approach is the reason it is taken seriously by both national network
operators and other heritage associations. A raffle and auction on the night raised £3840, which will go towards fitting new wheelsets to
No. 50035.