The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway has announced that Battle of Britain No. 34070 Manston will be visiting them for an extended period in 2026.
The locomotive will be on hire from the end of April until early July, which means that the locomotive will feature at the Cotswold Festival of Steam in May!
The gala will take place between the 23rd and 25th May 2026 and will see an action-packed weekend of steam.
The locomotive visits thanks to the Swanage Railway and Southern Locomotives Ltd.
More details about the gala will be released soon.
Responses
This Manston I remember on my old Southern Exmth jct shed for a few years! Similar timeline to sister Spitfire etc. We had lots of Bulleid engines! Their distinction was to arrive 72A Southern shed, But leave as ‘GW’ shed engines. In line with such as Bl/ Vale, Fred Pile, Waters meet, Hurricane, Wincanton and the 92, 257, 264 etc Squadrons! Many would do the Atlantic coast expresses. The heavier 35s would never see St David’s! The only Packet to go down to the main Paddington GW line was Clan Line on an ACE ‘rerun’ steam special / just recently!
I have a very vague memory of a merchant navy going to Newton Abbot works Can anyone else confirm this
Even to this day the heavier Merchant Navy can venture the GW lines via Dawlish, Newton Abbot route! But weight restrictions would only take the lighter 34s of Westcountry, Squadrons etc on the Southern westerly routes! Late 1963 saw the GW and Southern merge into one! But I could still bring engines up the old Plymouth Laira to St Davids lines! And of course the Kings and Castles would run the GW route! 1960 and we wait for the road and a 800 diesel Warship runs in? That caused quite a stir? It changed the conversation from Castro in Havana offloading yet more Russian Nuclear bomb’s! Lol.