BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia

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70000 Britannia in April 2012

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Standard Class 7 No 70000 Britannia was resident on the SVRSevern Valley Railway between 1971 and 1989.

70000 Britannia was the first of the R.A. RiddlesRobert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering responsible for the design of the British Rail Standard Class locomotives designed British Railways standard locomotives to be built, emerging from the Crewe workshops in January 1951. During BRBritish Rail or British Railways service 70000 was chosen to haul the funeral train of King George VI from King's Lynn to London following his death in February 1952. Britannia was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in May 1966, after 15 years of service.

Initially 70000 was stored as a candidate for the National Railway Museum’s National Collection. However, due to her prototype design and construction differences, the NRMThe Railway Museum, formerly the National Railway Museum selected 70013 Oliver Cromwell, instead. Britannia was eventually bought by Britannia Locomotive Company Ltd.

Britannia arrived at the SVRSevern Valley Railway in April 1971 for restoration to be completed. This was achieved in May 1978, 12 years, after the locomotive had last steamed. 70000 was renamed ‘Britannia’ at a ceremony on 20 May 1978 by Mr R A RiddlesRobert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering responsible for the design of the British Rail Standard Class locomotives, the locomotive’s designer. However the locomotive saw minimal use on the SVRSevern Valley Railway before departing onto the main line, as its weight of 94 tons and axle load of 20 tons 5cwt made it too heavy for the line at the time - in particular it was not allowed over Victoria Bridge with a full boiler[1].

Britannia left the SVRSevern Valley Railway in spring 1989. After a period of ownership by Pete Waterman, the locomotive was bought by Jeremy Hosking and was transferred to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust [2]. As of February 2015 it is operated on the main line by Icons of Steam[3].

Sources

SVRSevern Valley Railway News

  1. The Severn Valley Railway, John Marshall (1989), p181.
  2. Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust web page Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. Icons of Steam Retrieved 25 February 2015.

See also

Former Residents