5 days ago
Post-World War II-locomotive to arrive for heritage railway gala
A post-World War II locomotive will be heading to a historic railway near Swindon next month.
Swindon & Cricklade Railway, a volunteer-run heritage site, will be hosting the Railway 200 Gala.
It will celebrate 200 years of railway, with an event from September 19 to September 21, with the GWR Large Prairie No. 4144 coming along.
According to Didcot Railway, the 4144 was built at Swindon in September 1946 and, having spent time as the Severn Tunnel banker, was withdrawn from Severn Tunnel Junction depot in March 1965.
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The locomotive was sent to Woodham Bros. of Barry for cutting up but survived until it was bought jointly by the society and one of its members in 1974.
Swindon and Cricklade Railway shared a post on their Facebook page, they said: "We're continuing to look back at some fantastic memories — including visits from guest steam locomotives like GWR Pannier Tank No. 4612 and Small Prairie No. 5542.
"With GWR Large Prairie No. 4144 heading our way this September for the Railway 200 Gala, we're getting rather excited about recreating more scenes like these."
