Standard No. 78018 fills in for ‘Grange’ at Battlefield gala
BRITISH RAILWAYS ‘2MT’ 2‑6‑0 No. 78018 was a last‑minute Standard addition to the line‑up for the Battlefield Line’s ‘Winter Warmer’ gala on February 3/4.
The Riddles Class 2 ‘Mogul’, appearing courtesy of the Great Central Railway and the Darlington Railway Preservation Society, replaced new‑build Collett ‘Grange’ No. 6880 Betton Grange as the third visiting locomotive at the event. It had been planned for the all‑but finished ‘68XX’ to make its public debut at the gala (SR553), but it was unable to attend owing to outstanding work required to complete the locomotive (SR554). It was the first time No. 78018 had returned to the Battlefield Line since it was based there between October 1978, when it left Barry scrapyard, and July 1981, when it was acquired by the DRPS, which completed its restoration at the GCR in August 2016.
No. 78018 appeared alongside a pair of visiting Great Western ‘Large Prairie’ 2‑6‑2Ts, Nos. 4144 and 5199, at the event, with the duo double‑heading the 2pm departure from Shackerstone on both days.
Publicity officer Adrian Lock described the gala as the railway’s best in over 20 years, with over 1,000 attendees. He added that the no‑show of the ‘Grange’ did not negatively affect the gala. “I’m not sure we’d have coped if the ‘Grange’ had come. Trains were full to standing on both days, and the car parks at both Market Bosworth and Shackerstone were full,” he told Steam Railway. He added: “We pretty much ran to time all weekend, and slipped by only about 15 minutes on the Sunday. All in all it was a very welcome boost to the railway’s coffers during the winter period, and we made a tidy profit.”
He also added that the withdrawal of Betton Grange from the event provided the railway with an opportunity to bring No. 78018 back to the line: “We’ve talked about getting the ‘Standard’ back for ages,” he said. The ‘2MT’ stayed at the Battlefield Line until February 24/25, and the railway hoped to host No. 5199 again after its visit to Didcot, provided it gets an extension to its boiler ticket, as hoped for.