This summer, the West Somerset Railway (WSR) will provide stabling facilities for steam locomotive No. 70000 Britannia and a support coach on behalf of Locomotive Services Ltd Crewe (LSL).

Britannnia will be used to haul the Taunton to Kingswear legs of Saphos Trains‘ charter trains the ”English Riviera Express”. It will be stabled overnight at Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway and will be attached at Taunton for the runs through Somerset and Devon.

The WSR will provide conductor-driver services for the section between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren Junction where the WSR joins the Great Western main line. At the beginning of each trip, the locomotive will be turned on the triangle at Norton Fitzwarren. The partnership between LSL, Saphos Trains, and the WSR will run until 13th September.

BR Standard Pacific 4-6-2 No. 70000 Britannia was built at Crewe Works in 1951. She was the first British Railways standard locomotive to be built and the first of 55 locomotives of the Britannia class.

Tony Bush, managing director of LSL said: “We are very grateful to the WSR for their hospitality during our 2022 West Country operations, and we look forward to building a lasting relationship with the team there”

Jon Jones-Pratt, WSR chairman said: “We are extremely pleased to see such a valuable relationship and activity come to reality, and are confident that we can provide this strategic operating benefit to the national network for train operating companies looking to operate both steam and diesel to the West Country.

“Our team looks forward to supporting this LSL programme, which will no doubt be of great assistance to the Crewe-based operation. This innovation is all part of our continued business recovery and development plan, and for us it is another milestone to celebrate.

“I am thankful to all who have been involved in this to make it happen as well as the directors at LSL who have shown their confidence in the West Somerset Railway as an operation in which to invest and secure this running contract. “