DAY OF THE ‘DUCHESS’: STANIER SUPERPOWER STARS AT SVR
Visiting Royal Scot and Britannia meet Duchess of Sutherland and ‘Q6’ for annual event – and joint birthday celebrations.
IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF AN IMPROMPTU GATHERING OF WEST COAST MAIN LINE SUPERPOWER
Duchess of Sutherland has celebrated its 80th anniversary year in the best way possible – hauling the only train in preservation appropriate to its LMS livery.
The ‘Princess Coronation’ starred in the Severn Valley Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala of September 20‑23, working its first revenue‑earning trains following overhaul (SR484), with its new coat of Crimson Lake perfectly matching the SVR’s unique eight‑coach rake of Stanier coaches.
It was the highlight of what proved to be an impromptu gathering of West Coast Main Line superpower – thanks to the late addition of Royal Scot and Britannia.
The ‘Scot’, sent by Locomotive Services Ltd in place of unavailable ‘Black Five’ No. 45231, was in fact the only guest that was not fresh out of the shops; LSL’s ‘Brit’ was at the SVR undergoing running‑in trials after nearly three years of undergoing a bottom‑end rebuild, while the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group’s ‘Q6’ 0‑8‑0 No. 63395 had just returned to steam at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, having been under overhaul since early 2017.
Nor was the ‘Duchess’ the only engine celebrating a significant birthday – the 100‑year‑old ‘Q6’ had been invited to help mark the centenary year of a resident heavy freight machine, Churchward ‘28XX’ 2‑8‑0
No. 2857. The GWR engine returned the favour by attending the NYMR’s gala the following weekend (see p26/27).
Handling the SVR’s signature all‑night trains on the Friday and Saturday were Collett 4‑6‑0 No. 7802 Bradley Manor and Ivatt 2‑6‑0 No. 43106; ‘West Country’ No. 34027 Taw Valley made up a ‘Pacific’ trio; while ‘14XX’ No. 1450 and Port Talbot 0‑6‑0ST No. 813 shuttled between stations on auto and local trains respectively, and ‘57XX’ pannier No. 7714 joined in the fray on Thursday and Friday.
Delays of up to half an hour at the weekend were attributed to repairs to a broken window on a GWR coach on the Saturday, and “shunting complications at Kidderminster” on the Sunday.
Despite heavy rain on the opening days of the event, over 6,300 people attended, a 22% rise on the 2017 gala.
Next year’s March 15‑17 gala will take on its traditional branch line theme, with the first confirmed guest engine being GWR ‘64XX’ 0‑6‑0PT No. 6430 from the Llangollen Railway, to be paired with SVR‑based autocoach No. W238 ‘Chaffinch’.