West Coast Railway Company

Class 57/6 no. 57601 passing Brockhampton, north of Cheltenham, on 16 April 2005, whilst working a Bath-Skegness charter train

West Coast Railways, also known as West Coast Railway Company, is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator, based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire, using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the old Steamtown heritage depot. In 1998, the company became the first privately-owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company.

Description

West Coast Railway Company is a spot hire company which provides locomotives, stock and crews to other companies within the rail industry. The company operates charter trains throughout the year, many of which are hauled by steam locomotive and has grown to become the UK's leading special trains operator. The company now provide most of the stock and crews for steam workings on the national network plus a large amount for diesel tours as well. The headquarters and large engineering base and depot at Carnforth are where locomotives and stock are stored and maintained and contract work is also undertaken for other operators.

West Coast are also famed for their operation of steam locomotive 5972 "Olton Hall" under the guise of "Hogwarts Castle" for the Harry Potter film series, with the "Hogwarts Express" train being featured in each of the films.

Services

West Coast Railways operate three main services during the year; they are "The Cambrian", "The Scarborough Spa Express" and "The Jacobite".

The most famous of these trains is The Jacobite (named for the historic Jacobite political movement). It runs along the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig, crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct. It runs Monday to Fridays from the middle of May until the end of October and also runs at weekends from the end of June until the end of August. For 2011 WCRC have added a second "Jacobite" service leaving Fort William in the afternoons from the start of June until the end of August running on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The Scarborough Spa Express operates from York to Scarborough from July until September on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Using a variety of motive power including Black 5's, Royal Scots and Britannia's.

In 2007 West Coast took over operations of the Cambrian Coast Express running over the Cambrian Coast Line from Machynlleth to Porthmadog and Pwllheli and renamed it "The Cambrian. The service runs from the last week of July until the end of August. Before the 2011 season West Coast issued a statement on their website, "Network Rail are carrying out modernisation and extensive EU compliance work on both the Cambrian line and our engines, it was anticipated that work would be complete in time for this years (2011) season. Unfortunately this will not be the case and our Cambrian route will not run this year. It will however for 2012, we apologise for this inconvenience and disappointment but look forward to welcome all passengers back for 2012".

Train Operating Company

As a Train Operating Company West Coast provide locomotives, stock and crews for many railtour organisers across the country; they also provide crews to some such as SPRS and Vintage trains who own their own stock which is run by West Coast.

West Coast act as TOC to the following companies:

• Carnforth Station Visitor Centre Tours
• Compass Tours
• PMR Tours
• Railtourer
• The Railway Touring Company
• Spitfire Railtours
• Shepherd Neame
• SPRS Railtours
• Steam Dreams

Routes

Routes commonly operated over by WCR include the nearby Cumbrian Coast Line and Furness Line, Little North Western Line, the Settle and Carlisle Railway and the West Highland Line. The company utilises several sidings at Hellifield railway station, south of Settle Junction, where the lines to Carlisle and Carnforth diverge, allowing easy access to the WCR home base.

Depots

West Coast have two operational bases. The headquarters and main depot for the company is at Carnforth MPD. The former London Midland and Scottish Railway 10A depot has workshops for steam and diesel locomotives, and also carriage and wagon facilities to maintain the companies fleet of Mark 1 & 2 carriages. The site includes extensive sidings plus a paint shop.

The company's second base is the former Great Western depot at Southall Railway Centre in West London. "The Green Train" is based here and is used on "The Cathedrals Express" workings for Steam Dreams. Steam locomotive 34067 "Tangmere" is often based here along with other locomotives plus some of the companies fleet of diesels.

For half of the year the company also use part of Fort William depot to base stock and locomotives for its Jacobite service.

Rolling stock

The company owns and operates a fleet of diesel locomotives, which are primarily used to haul charter trains, but have also been hired to other railway operators. The fleet is mainly composed of Class 37 and Class 47 locomotives, but also includes Class 57 locomotives including the prototype passenger Class 57, no. 57601.

Several Class 37 locomotives were purchased from Ian Riley Engineering, which ceased its spot-hire operations in mid-2004, however these locomotives have now been sold on to Direct Rail Services, in exchange for four Class 33s.

Class 47 locomotive no. 47851 'Traction Magazine' at Ely with a charter train in British Railways Two-Tone Green livery

In 2005, WCR won the contract to haul The Royal Scotsman luxury train. As a result, its two operational Class 37 locomotives and a Class 47 were repainted into a revised maroon livery, officially known as Royal Scotsman Claret, based on that of the Royal Scotsman carriages. The contract sees the West Coast locomotives in use all over Scotland.

In late 2005, WCR sold its two operational Class 37 locomotives (nos. 37197 and 37261) to Direct Rail Services (DRS), and received four Class 33 locomotives in exchange. WCRC later sold non-operational locomotive no. 37423 to DRS as well. In 2006, WCRC hired two preserved locomotives, nos. 37214 and 37248. 37214 is now owned by WCR, however, 37248 was owned by three Growler Group members under the venture 'Type Three Traction'. The hire period for the locomotive ended in 2009 and the engine was moved back into preservation at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in May 2009. 37214 is currently undergoing repairs and has been out of action for around two years, as of May 2009.

In early 2007, WCR purchased five Class 47/7 locos from EWS. These were nos. 47760, 47776, 47786, 47787 and 47792. These locos had been stored at Healey Mills, near Wakefield, after being deemed surplus to requirements. Of these, 47792 was the first to be returned to service and returned to its former number, 47804. This was followed by the return of 47787 in September 2007, 47760 in April 2008 and 47786 in October 2008. These were supplemented by the purchase of 47772 from EWS at Margam, South Wales, in June 2008. 47772 and 47776 are currently under repair and expected to return to traffic at some point in the near future.

Later in 2007, WCR again added to its fleet by purchasing a number of Class 37s from EWS. 37676 was the first to be purchased in October, followed by nos. 37517, 37668, 37685, 37706, 37710, 37712 and 37717 in December. These were transferred across the Pennines to Carnforth in January 2008 in several batches. Of these locomotives, 37712 returned to traffic in July 2008, with 37676 following in November 2008 and 37706 working again in December. 37712 suffered a serious fire in November 2008 at Crewe while working an empty stock movement to Southall and has since returned to Carnforth for major repairs. 37717 was sent for scrap at Booths, Rotherham, and 37516 was bought from DB Schenker (formerly EWS) as a replacement. This locomotive arrived at Carnforth in February 2009 and returned to traffic in May 2009.

Its coaching stock consists of vacuum and air plus dual braked Mark 1 and Mark 2 coaches, mostly painted in the British Railways maroon livery, albeit with West Coast Railways branding on the bodyside.

Fleet details

Key:	In service	Under Overhaul or Restoration	Under repair	Stored

Steam locomotives operated by West Coast Railways

Number	Name	Class	Livery	Owner	Status	Location
4936	Kinlet Hall	GWR "Hall" 4-6-0	BR Brunswick Green	Kinlet Hall Locomotive Company	Operational	Tyseley
4953	Pitchford Hall	GWR "Hall" 4-6-0	GWR Brunswick Green	Dr John F Kennedy	Operational	Loughborough
4965	Rood Ashton Hall	GWR "Hall" 4-6-0	GWR Brunswick Green	Vintage Trains	Operational	Tyseley
5029	Nunney Castle	GWR "Castle" 4-6-0	BR Brunswick Green	Jeremy Hosking	Operational	Bristol
5043	Earl of Mount Edgcumbe	GWR "Castle" 4-6-0	BR Brunswick Green	Vintage Trains	Operational	Tyseley
5972	Olton Hall	GWR "Hall" 4-6-0	Hogwarts Railways Maroon	David Smith	Operational	National Railway Museum York
30777	Sir Lamiel	SR "King Arthur" 4-6-0	BR Brunswick Green	National Collection	Operational	Loughborough
34067	Tangmere	SR "Battle of Britain" 4-6-2	BR Brunswick Green	Private individual	Operational	Southall
44871	-	LMS "Black Five" 4-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	Ian Riley	Operational	Bury ELR
44932	-	LMS "Black Five" 4-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	David Smith	Operational	Carnforth
45231	The Sherwood Forester	LMS "Black Five" 4-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	Bert Hitchen	Operational	Bury ELR
45305	Alderman A E Draper	LMS "Black Five" 4-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	Draper family	Operational	Crewe
45407	The Lancashire Fusilier	LMS "Black Five" 4-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	Ian Riley	Operational	Bury ELR
5690	Leander	LMS "Jubilee" 4-6-0	LMS Maroon	Beet family	Under Overhaul	Carnforth
45699	Galatea	LMS "Jubilee" 4-6-0	N/A	David Smith	Under restoration	Carnforth
46115	Scots Guardsman	LMS "Royal Scot" 4-6-0	BR Brunswick Green	David Smith	Operational	Carnforth
6201	Princess Elizabeth	LMS "Princess Royal" 4-6-2	LMS Maroon	Locomotive 6201 Princess Elizabeth Society	Operational	Tyseley
46233	Duchess of Sutherland	LMS "Princess Coronation" 4-6-2	BR Lined Green	Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust	Under Overhaul	Butterley
48151	Gauge O Guild	LMS Stanier 8F 2-8-0	BR Blackberry Black	David Smith	Operational	Carnforth
60007	Sir Nigel Gresley	LNER A4 4-6-2	BR Garter Blue	Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Preservation Trust	Under Repair for cracked firebox	Grosmont
60009	Union of South Africa	LNER A4 4-6-2	BR Brunswick Green	John Cameron	Under overhaul	Crewe
60019	Bittern	LNER A4 4-6-2	LNER Garter Blue	Jeremy Hosking	Operational	Southall
61994	The Great Marquess	LNER K4 2-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	John Cameron	Operational	Fort William
62005	Lord of the Isles	LNER K1 2-6-0	BR Blackberry Black	North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group	Under repair	Darlington
70000	Britannia	BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2	BR Blackberry Black	Jeremy Hosking	Operational	Southall
70013	Oliver Cromwell	BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2	BR Brunswick Green	National Collection	Operational	Loughborough

Diesel locomotives

Key:	In service	Stored	Under Repair	Spares

Operational fleet

Number	Class	Name	Livery	Date Acquired	Into Traffic	Previous Operator	Status	Location
08418	08	-	EWS Red	02010-08 August 2010	02010-11 November 2010	ex-DB Schenker	Depot shunter	Carnforth
08485	08	-	BR Blue	02010-08 August 2010	02010-09 September 2010	ex-DB Schenker	Depot shunter	Carnforth
08678	08	Artila	Glaxo Blue and Black	01994-11 November 1994	01994-11 November 1994	ex-Glaxo, Ulverston	Under repair	Carnforth
33025	33	Glen Falloch	WCR Maroon	02005-09 September 2005	02005-11 November 2005	ex-Direct Rail Services	Operational	Carnforth
33029	33	Glen Loy	WCR Maroon	02005-09 September 2005	02006-03 March 2006	ex-Direct Rail Services	Operational	Carnforth
33207	33	Jim Martin	WCR Maroon	02005-09 September 2005	02005-11 November 2005	ex-Direct Rail Services	Operational	Carnforth
37516	37	-	WCR Maroon	02009-02 February 2009	02009-06 June 2009	ex-EWS	Operational	Inverness
37676	37	Loch Rannoch	WCR Maroon	02007-11 November 2007	02008-11 November 2008	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
37685	37	-	WCR Maroon	02007-12 December 2007	02010-05 May 2010	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
37706	37	-	WCR Maroon	02007-12 December 2007	02008-12 December 2008	ex-EWS	Operational	Southall
37712	37	-	WCR Maroon	02007-12 December 2007	02008-06 June 2008	ex-EWS	Under repair (fire damage)	Carnforth
47237	47		Un-branded blue	02011-01 January 2011	02011-07 July 2011	ex-Advenza Freight	Operational	Carnforth
47245	47	-	WCR Maroon	02004-04 April 2004	02006-04 April 2006	ex-HNRC	Under repair	Carnforth
47270	47	Swift	BR Blue	02010-05 May 2010	02010-05 May 2010	ex-Boden Rail	Operational	Carnforth
47500	47	-	WCR Maroon	02009-12 December 2009	02010-07 July 2010	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
47760	47	-	WCR Maroon	02007-02 February 2007	02008-04 April 2008	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
47786	47	Roy Castle OBE	WCR Maroon	02007-02 February 2007	02008-10 October 2008	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
47787	47	Windsor Castle	WCR Maroon	02007-02 February 2007	02008-02 February 2008	ex-EWS	Under repair (engine overhaul)	Carnforth
47804	47	-	WCR Maroon	02007-02 February 2007	02007-06 June 2007	ex-EWS	Operational	Carnforth
47826	47	-	WCR Maroon	02005-04 April 2005	02005-06 June 2005	ex-Virgin Trains	Operational	Carnforth
47851	47		WCR Maroon	02005-04 April 2005	02005-06 June 2005	ex-Virgin Trains	Operational	Carnforth
47854	47	-	WCR Maroon	02003-06 June 2003	02004-02 February 2004	ex-Virgin Trains	Operational	Carnforth
57001	57		WCR Maroon	02011-01 January 2011	02011-03 March 2011	ex-Freightliner	Operational	Carnforth
57601	57		WCR Maroon with Black Stripe	02003-11 November 2003	02004-02 February 2004	ex-Porterbrook Spot Hire	Operational	Carnforth

Stored fleet

Number	Class	Name	Livery	Year Acquired	Previous Operator	Status	Location
03196	03	-	BR Blue	July 2002	ex-British Rail	Under repair	Carnforth
D2381	03	-	BR Green	March 1976	ex-British Rail	Under repair	Carnforth
33030	33	-	DRS Blue	September 2005	ex-Direct Rail Services	Spares donor	Carnforth
37214	37	Loch Laidon	WCR Maroon	May 2006	ex-Preservation	Spares donor	Carnforth
37517	37	-	Loadhaul	December 2007	ex-EWS	Stored	Carnforth
37668	37	-	EWS	December 2007	ex-EWS	Under repair	Carnforth
37710	37	-	Loadhaul	December 2007	ex-EWS	Spares donor	Carnforth
47194	47	-	Railfreight	September 2005	ex-Fragonset	Spares donor	Carnforth
47236	47	-	RfD	December 2006	ex-Fragonset	Spares donor	Carnforth
47355	47	-	Fragonset	May 2010	ex-European Metal Recycling	Under Repair	Carnforth
47368	47	-	Railfreight	December 2006	ex-Fragonset	Spares donor	Carnforth
47492	47	-	Rail Express Systems	March 2010	ex-preserved	Spares donor	Carnforth
47526	47	-	BR Large Logo	December 2006	ex-Fragonset	Spares donor	Carnforth
47746	47	-	Rail Express Systems	March 2011	ex-preservation	Under Repair	Carnforth
47768	47	-	Undercoat	March 2011	ex-preservation	Under Repair	Carnforth
47772	47	-	Rail Express Systems	June 2008	ex-EWS	Under Repair	Carnforth
47776	47	-	Rail Express Systems	February 2007	ex-EWS	Stored	Carnforth
57005	57	-	Advenza Freight Blue	02011-01 January 2011	ex-Advenza Freight	Under repair	Carnforth
57006	57	-	Advenza Freight Blue	02011-04 April 2011	ex-Advenza Freight	Under repair	Carnforth

External links

• West Coast Railway Company website
• West Coast Railway Company website
• Information on "The Jacobite"