Join us for an evening of photography at Didcot Railway Centre featuring visiting L&YR No.51456

About this event

We are delighted to be able to offer a late afternoon and evening event at Didcot Railway Centre using visiting Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway saddle tank No.51456 (L&YR 752) in British Railways black livery. The locomotive is paying a brief working visit to Oxfordshire and will be in steam both during the day for the public and for our private event once the Museum has closed.

No.752 was built in 1881 by Beyer Peacock for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway as an 0-6-0 tender locomotive. It was rebuilt by Aspinal (not personally, but under his auspices!) in 1896 as a saddle tank, as there was a need for shunting locomotives and to free up tenders for other locos. On Grouping in 1923, No.752 passed into LMS ownership and was renumbered 11456. The locomotive’s working life was extended by its being sold into industrial service in 1937, when it was acquired by the Blainscough Colliery Company based at Coppull in Lancashire for use at their Welch Whittle Colliery near Wigan.

In 1947, No.11456 became part of the fleet of the North Western Division of the National Coal Board and subsequently worked at several Northern collieries. It ended its working days at Parsonage Colliery, Leigh in 1967 and was purchased for preservation in poor condition in 1968 by what became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust. After much work at private premises, the locomotive moved to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in November 1971 and returned to steam the following year. Having spent much of its preserved life at the KWVR, the loco moved to the East Lancashire Railway in 2016 and was returned to steam following a major overhaul in January 2020.

We will meet from 16.30 onwards and photography will commence at around 17.15. We will pose the locomotive around the shed and turntable area while it is light and at dusk, before taking No.51456 into the shed for the last hour of our event. Catering will be available during the evening. We would like to thank the locomotive’s owners, The L&YR Trust, and the host Didcot Railway Centre for facilitating this event.

Numbers will be limited to ensure comfortable conditions for photography and we look forward to welcoming you to Didcot in May to photograph this rare and unusual survivor.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Spare batteries
• Camera
• Lenses
• Camera protection - rain covers etc

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Medium

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes