Bahamas steam locomotive to team up with Mayflower for 4-day trip to Devon and Cornwall

Steam Dreams Rail Company has confirmed to RailAdvent that Ex-LMS Jubilee No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ will join Ex-LNER 61306 ‘Mayflower’ for their four-day trip to Devon and Cornwall.

The trip to the South West will take place from the 28th September until the 1st October 2021.

This means that this is the first time since 1967 that steam locomotive Bahamas will depart from London on this type of trip.

Steam Dreams’ four day holiday will see passengers see iconic sights such as the Dawlish Sea Wall and the Saltash Bridge, built by Brunel.

David Buck, Chairman of Steam Dreams, told RailAdvent: “We are extremely excited to have teamed up with The Bahamas Locomotive Society for this momentous event. Although a special trip in its own right there is no doubt that double-heading 61306 Mayflower and 44596 Bahamas will attract a lot of attention. Later in the year, we hope to announce some additional trips which will be published on our website www.steamdreams.co.uk.”

A brief history of 45596 Bahamas

45596 Bahamas was built in 1934 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for the London Midland & Scottish Railway. 45596 was designed by Sir William Stanier and entered service in 1935. 45596 is the only ‘double chimney’ Jubilee locomotive after being fitted with it in 1961 as part of a trial.

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In 1967, Bahamas was purchased from British Railways for preservation by the Bahamas Locomotive Society. After which, it was sent to the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds for repairs and repainted into LMS Crimson Lake livery.

The BLS secured the lease of a section of track to Dinting Railway Station near Glossop where it established the Dinting Railway Museum.

In 1994, the mainline ticket for 45596 Bahamas expired, with the locomotive spending the next three years running on heritage railways until its 10-year boiler ticket expired in 1997.

For the next 15 years, the locomotive moved between storage and static displays at the KWVR at Ingrow West and Oxenhope, as well as the National Railway Museum in York.

A Heritage Lottery Fund application in 2012 was successful and allowed an overhaul to be completed. In September 2018, 45596 Bahamas was fully restored and in steam at the Tyseley Locomotive Works Open Day.

For more information and updates on 45596 Bahamas, please visit The Bahamas Locomotive Society Facebook page by clicking here.

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