TWO HERITAGE diesel locomotives stormed through Bromsgrove on Saturday while working a charter in celebration of the 100th railtour organised by the locomotives’ owners, the Class 50 Alliance.
The two class 50 locomotives, numbers 50007, named Hercules, and 50049, named Defiance, were working Pathfinder Tours ‘Pilgrim Centurion’ from Swindon to Edinburgh in collaboration with the locomotives’ owner.
The Class 50 Alliance was formed in 2006 following a merger between the Fifty Fund and Project Defiance, with the aim of securing the future of class 50 locomotives, and operating them for public benefit.
Today’s outing marks the 100th railtour organised by the Alliance, and is also the 50th time that Pathfinder Tours has used class 50s to haul their excursions.
The train passed through Bromsgrove shortly after at 7am en-route to Edinburgh via Birmingham, Crewe and Carlisle. The tour was booked in the Scottish capital for three hours before working back to Swindon along the same outward route, with the train due to pass Bromsgrove at 10.50pm.
Fifty of the engines were built by English Electric in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968 and were initially employed on passenger trains between Crewe and Scotland following the demise of steam, and also worked regularly through Bromsgrove in the 1980s.
The class began being withdrawn from British Rail service in the late 1980s with 18 examples being preserved.
It comes a day after The Standard revealed when the last chance would be for rail enthusiasts to see CrossCountry Trains’ famous HSTs and InterCity 125s run through Bromsgrove Station.
Story by Neil Gordon.
