Pre-Grouping Greats on the East Lancashire Railway - 'Autumn Steam Gala' 2026

The East Lancashire Railway is one of the UK’s most prominent preserved lines. Since reopening in 1987, much of the route has been restored to reflect the era of British Railways, covering a twenty year period from the late 1940s up until the late 1960s. However, this hasn’t affected its rolling stock, as the line has seen a huge range of locomotives from almost period of railway history. This is regularly reflected in their galas, when the railway plays host to engines from all corners of the UK, and this year was no exception. The first guest to be announced was LSWR S15 30506 from the The Watercress Line. Having previously visited Bury all the way back in 1993, it would be good to see her romping up and down the Lancashire hills. Following her was GWR 57XX 7714 from the Severn Valley, now in the last few months of her current boiler certificate. The ‘Pannier’ has been proven to be a sprightly performer across, so customers could look forward to some lively running. Intriguingly, SECR O1 65 made a rare visit away from her home on the Bluebell Railway. The event was significant as it would be the farthest north the engine had ever ventured! Finally, Hudswell Clarke ‘Illingworth/Mitchell’ was in operation having recently been the subject of contract repairs, carried out for the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Several of the home fleet were on the roster. After lengthy stints in LMS and BR livery, Class 23 11456 and Class 27 ‘A’ 52322 were repainted into their original Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway liveries to complement the O1, as all three locomotives were either built or rebuilt in 1896. SR ‘West Country’ 34092 ‘City Of Wells’ paired up with 30506 for several trips over the weekend. The L&YR ‘Pug’, mostly found on light services, retained her grouping guise as 11243, whilst BR Standard 4MT 80097 provided additional support on the heavier trains. An impressive demonstration freight ran between Bury and Ramsbottom, even participating in an impromptu photo charter on Friday morning. Evening trains also ran until 23:00 on Saturday, allowing guests to sample the railway’s pubs. All in all, nine engines were available for traffic over the three-day event. I visited on Saturday and Sunday. Despite the first service leaving as early as 08:20, trains quickly became full. Weather conditions were in photographers’ favour, with sunny spells cast across the Irwell Valley on both days. The pre-grouping engines shone in their distinctive colour schemes, drawing most of the onlookers eyes. Despite strong competition from the Bluebell Railway’s ‘Giants Of Steam’ weekend, attendance figures were strong, although trains ran up to twenty minutes late at times. The full lineup consisted of: Visiting: SR Urie S15 2-6-0 30506 (from the Urie Locomotive Society and The Watercress Line) GWR Collett 57XX 0-6-0PT 7714 (from the Severn Valley Railway) SE&CR Stirling O1 0-6-0 65 (from the Bluebell Railway) Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST 1208 ‘Illingworth/Mitchell’ (from Stately Trains and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Ran on Friday and Sunday only) Home Fleet: BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T 80097 (ran on Saturday only) SR Bulleid Unrebuilt ‘West Country’ 4-6-2 34092 ‘City Of Wells’ L&YR Aspinall Class 27 ‘A’ 0-6-0 1300 (recently repainted into L&YR livery) L&YR Aspinall Class 23 0-6-0ST 752 (recently repainted into L&YR livery) L&YR Aspinall Class 21 ‘Pug’ 0-4-0ST 11243 (ran on Friday only)* *does not feature I hope you all enjoy the video. Thanks to all staff and volunteers of the East Lancashire Railway for their efforts as well as the owning groups for making it happen. Picks of the video are the O1 catching the afternoon sun over Brooksbottom Viaduct and 1300 storming past Springside Farm on the goods. To explore more of what we do, follow us on social media at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... and   / secondvalvesteam   and feel free to like, comment and subscribe!