71000 trust signs agreement with Crewe
UNIQUE BR ‘8P’ Duke of Gloucester will be part of Locomotive Services (TOC) Ltd’s stable when the Riddles ‘Pacific’ returns to steam later this year, after the signing of a new operating agreement between the Crewe-based Train Operating Company and No. 71000’s owners.
As part of the agreement between the BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust and the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust, announced on February 14, the ‘Duke’ will be based at Crewe and used primarily for LSL’s Saphos Trains main line railtours, as well as visits to heritage lines.
The overhaul of the 1954-built one-off ‘Pacific’ is currently nearing completion at Tyseley Locomotive Works, and is expected to be completed by TLW in June/ July this year, BRC8LT chairman Trevor Tuckley told Steam Railway. No. 71000 will then move to the Severn Valley Railway for testing and running-in, before resuming its main line duties for the first time since 2012, when it bowed out for overhaul.
The agreement with LSL came as a surprise to many enthusiasts, particularly as the BRC8LT had agreed with Vintage Trains Ltd in March 2018 that the Tyseley-based TOC would be Duke of Gloucester’s primary operator upon its return to steam (SR478). Explaining the rationale behind the switch to LSL, Tuckley told SR: “We had an understanding with Vintage Trains, but they wanted to change the commercial arrangements. We had to fulfil our charitable responsibilities, so we looked at alternative operating partners.”
He added: “This latest overhaul has carried out the improvements that we believe Riddles, the designer, would have done if he had been allowed the time.”
Jeremy Hosking, trustee of the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust, and chairman of Locomotive Services (TOC) Limited, said: “71000 is a locomotive with a unique story, offering a vision of what might have been. It is clearly supported and managed by a professional, dedicated, and enthusiastic team, whose outlook is forward-thinking while also pragmatic – values we hold dear at RSL> and within the Locomotive Services Group. I very much look forward to seeing “The Duke” heading our restored Mk 1 coaches for everyone to enjoy.”