At the model railway show at Leeming Bar over the weekend, Wensleydale Railway revealed a new livery for one of its locomotives.

The railway has repainted No. 47714 from Anglia livery to Rail Express Systems (RES) red livery.

RES launched in 1991 and was responsible for transporting mail and parcels.

The locomotive was purchased back in June 2024 from The Harry Needle Railroad Company, and arrived in November 2024, with the work to repair the body work and repaint beginning earlier this year.

Visitors to the model railway show got the chance to see the locomotive in the engine shed. An overview was given by Adrian Monks, a volunteer who worked on the locomotive. Visitors were told all about the restoration and the locomotives history.

Now that the restoration is complete, the class 47 should be running by the end of May in the railway’s Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

The event will take place from the 24th to the 26th of May, with further information to follow soon. The event will mark the first time the locomotive has operated passenger services at Wensleydale Railway in its new livery.

“We decided to put the loco in a livery that it carried during its life on the national network and was fitting for our region. It is currently the only operational class 47 locomotive in preservation that carries the RES livery. I would like to thank all the volunteers who supported this work. They put a huge amount of time and effort into this project, and it’s great to hear that the result of the team’s hard work is being so well-received by railway enthusiasts.”

Robert Cooper-Williamson, Engineering and Operations Manager