| Britannia | |
|---|---|
| Number 70000 on a charter train on Whalley viaduct | |
| Power type | Steam |
| Builder | British Railways Crewe works |
| Build date | 2 January 1951 |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Career | British Railways |
| Class | standard class 7 |
| Number in class | 55 |
| Number | 70000 |
| Official name | Britannia |
| Retired | 1966 |
| Current owner | Jeremy Hosking under restoration at The Railway Age, Crewe |
British Railways (BR) standard class 7 (also known as Britannia class), number 70000 Britannia is a preserved steam locomotive.
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Britannia was built at Crewe, completed on January 2, 1951. She was the first British Railways standard locomotive to be built and the first of 55 locomotives of the Britannia class. The locomotive was named at a ceremony at Marylebone Station by the then Minister for Transport Alfred Barnes on 30 January 1951.
The BR Locomotive Naming Committee were determined not to use names already in use on other locomotives. They tried to observe this by not selecting the name Britannia for use on 70000 because it was already in use on one of the ex-LMS Jubilee Class locomotives, but Robert Riddles overruled them and the Jubilee had to be renamed.[1]
Britannia was initially based at Stratford (30A) in order to work East Anglian expresses to Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Subsequently, the loco was based at Norwich Thorpe (w/e 31/01/1959) and March (6/1961) before spending the remainder of her career on the London Midland Region: Willesden (1A) (w/e 30/03/1963), Crewe North (5A) (w/e 25/05/1963), Crewe South (5B) (w/e 19/05/1965) and finally Newton Heath (9D) (w/e 05/03/1966) from where she was withdrawn w/e 28 May 1966,[2]
For many years, Britannia had her cab roof painted white. This was to commemorate her pulling the funeral train of King George VI from Norfolk to London following his death in February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk.[3]
Britannia was withdrawn in May 1966, after 15 years of service.[4]
Initially destined for the National Railway Museum because of her cultural significance, she was stored. However, due to her prototype design and construction differences, the NRM chose standard sister 70013 Oliver Cromwell instead. Britannia was eventually bought by the Britannia Locomotive Company Limited.
After a series of moves, she was eventually returned to steam on the Severn Valley Railway, where she remained for a number of years in operational but non-mainline condition. With the society wishing to make more use of the locomotive, she was moved to the European gauge Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, where she was also fitted with an air-brake compressor. Britannia made her return to the main line on 27 July 1991, successfully working enthusiast trips until 1997, and was featured in an episode of London's Burning.
With an expired mainline boiler certificate, due to the high cost of refurbishment, the locomotive was sold to Pete Waterman in 2000. Stored at Waterman's workshops at the Crewe Heritage Centre, after initial assessment the amount of work resulted in Waterman selling her to Jeremy Hosking. Presently undergoing restoration at Crewe, the newly refurbished cab has been test fitted, the new smoke box almost ready for fitting and the boiler is the subject of major work, currently having replacement steel sides, new crown stays, new front section barrel section, new steel and copper tubeplate, repairs and patches to door plate and major work to copper firebox.
Returned to main line operational condition in 2011, it can be seen hauling special and excursion trains.