This afternoon, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway have announced that steam locomotive No. 45212 will return to its home line for their 50th Anniversary Gala.

2018 is a big year for the KWVR, and they are planning a huge 8-day gala to celebrate 50 years since they opened as a preserved railway.

Already announced is No. 55019 “Royal Highland Fusilier”, and visitors from GB Rail Freight for their diesel days. The 50th Anniversary Gala will also see the return of 41241 which hauled the reopening special.

45212 is owned by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway but is currently operated by Riley & Son (E) Ltd on the mainline, hauling various railtours and The Jacobite in Scotland.

A brief history of 45212

45212 is a mixed traffic ‘Black 5’ steam locomotive. Numbered 5212 by the LMS and produced in 1935 in Newcastle by Armstrong Whitworth. The locomotive started life in Bradford and was withdrawn from Lostock Hall (Preston) in 1968. Bought the same year by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, it arrived in October 1968 and is ideal for use on the heavy services at the KWVR.

In an agreement between the KWVR and Riley & Son (E) Ltd, as part of the ten-year agreement, the locomotive went under a major overhaul to allow it to operate on the mainline. As part of the agreement, either 45212 or a replacement will spend the winter months at the KWVR (2017/18 was Black 5 No. 44871). The locomotive returned to steam at the Autumn Steam Gala in 2016 and spent 2017 up in Scotland hauling ‘The Jacobite’.

• Visit the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway website
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