Royalty Returns! 6024 'King Edward I' on the Nene Valley Railway - 'Travel With A King'

Charles Collett is responsible for some of the Great Western Railway’s most distinctive locomotives. Inheriting a legacy of standardised designs from George Jackson Churchward, his mission was to continue the railway’s steady motive power output whilst developing and updating existing engines. He dropped a bigger boiler and cylinders into a ‘Star’ chassis to create the ‘Castles’, combined the best bits of all pre-established ‘Panniers’ into the 57XX and gave us mixed traffic stalwarts like the ‘Manors’, ‘Granges’ and ‘Halls’. In 1927, Collett unleashed his magnum opus: an engineering marvel that the company promoted as the most powerful locomotive in Britain: the ‘King’ Class. The ‘Kings’ were instantly impressive. Boasting bespoke boilers, enlarged front bogies and thick valve gear, they were the largest engines built by the GWR since their failed experimental Pacific 111 ‘The Great Bear’. With over forty-thousand pounds of tractive effort, they charged over the Devon Banks with ease at the head of top-link express services. In a long line of copper-capped thoroughbreds, the ‘Kings’ were the final development of classic Great Western ten-wheeler. Three examples survive today. Pioneer 6000 ‘King George V’ was saved for the national collection and now lives a quiet life on static display. 6023 ‘King Edward II’, once thought to be a lost cause, momentously returned to steam at Didcot Railway Centre in 2010. However, the most active survivor in preservation is 6024 ‘King Edward I’. Inspired by ‘King George V’s breach of BR’s steam ban in 1971, 6024 was rescued from Barry Scrapyard three years later and moved to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. After being painstakingly restored over a sixteen-year period, she made her mainline comeback in 1990, putting in some mighty performances over her old stomping ground, as well as new routes like the West Coast Mainline and the Settle and Carlisle Railway. Acquired by the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust in 2012, the engine entered the workshops for her most extensive overhaul to date. After much spending and speculation, ‘King Edward I’ emerged from Crewe in the summer of 2026, shimmering in GWR coat of arms livery. So, what would the ‘King’s first royal appointment be… Would anyone have guessed the Nene Valley Railway?! The line was extremely fortunate to book the engine for its first weekend back in traffic. Whilst the Cambridgeshire line might seem a strange choice at first, the railway is no stranger to hosting star locomotives, having previously seen GWR ’Saint’ 2999 ‘Lady Of Legend’, BR 7MT 70000 ‘Britannia’ and LNER A3 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ pay visits. ‘Travel With A King’ would see 6024 make four return trips a day between Wansford, Yarwell and Peterborough, following the pattern of previous celebrity guest locomotives. Furthermore, ‘King Edward I’ would also take charge of ‘The Jolly Fisherman’ dining special on Saturday evening. Advance bookings sold like hotcakes and enthusiasts marked the weekend in their diaries, eager to catch up with his majesty. I visited on both days of the event. Having never experienced 6024 in the flesh before, I alternated between lineside shots and bashing trains. As an unexpected bonus, Aveling and Porter 0-2-2WT 9449 ‘The Blue Circle’ offered footplate rides around the yard at Wansford. Built for the Snodland Works of Holborough Cement Company, she was initially donated to the Bluebell Railway upon withdrawal in 1964. Based on the Nene Valley since 2022, she is celebrating her one hundredth anniversary in 2026. The weather for the weekend was favourable, with plenty of lengthy sunny spells, although strong winds did present a challenge on Saturday. Photographers were out in force and every train was packed with passengers, even if some services ran up to twenty-five minutes late. I hope you all enjoy the video. I have been experimenting with the manual settings on my camcorder, so please excuse any blurry moments. Huge thanks to all staff and volunteers at the Nene Valley for a fantastic time. My favourite shots are of the engine crossing the river, clagging under Green Wheel Bridge and departing Wansford on ‘The Jolly Fisherman’. If you want to see more, follow us on social media at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... and   / secondvalvesteam   for more. Feel free to leave a like or comment and don’t forget to subscribe!