GWR 7800 Class 7812 Erlestoke Manor

GWR 7800 Class 7812 Erlestoke Manor is a preserved steam locomotive, that serviced the Great Western Railway and later British Railways.

Erlestoke Manor
7812 Erlestoke Manor waiting to depart Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway in 2012.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Build dateJanuary 1939
Specifications
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Career
OperatorsGreat Western Railway
British Railways
Class7800 'Manor' Class
Numbers7812
Retired1965

GWR/BR operations

Built at Swindon in January 1939, it was first allocated to Bristol Bath Road depot. It was reallocated to Newton Abbot in August 1950, and Plymouth Laira in March 1959. Transferred to Oswestry in May 1960, its final allocation was to Shrewsbury in February 1963.

Withdrawn from British Railways service in November 1965, it was sent to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, along with fellow manor class, Bradley Manor.

Preservation
Erlestoke Manor with classmate Bradley Manor

The locomotive was purchased by the Erlestoke Manor Fund in June 1973. It was moved from Barry to a temporary home at the Dowty Railway Preservation Society, Ashchurch in May 1974, pending an eventual move to the Dean Forest Railway. However in 1976 Fund members approved a move to the Severn Valley Railway instead, where restoration was completed and the locomotive entered service in 1979.[1] Withdrawn in 1985, it returned to service on 12 February 2008, as part of the SVR's anniversary reopening train.

Presently one of three GWR 7800 Manor Class locomotives based at the SVR, the other two being 7802 Bradley Manor (which is also owned by the Erlestoke Manor Fund) and GWR 7819 Hinton Manor. 7812's boiler ticket expired in January 2018, after which the locomotive was moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works for overhaul.

Olympic Torch run

In 2012 during the olympic torch relay for the London 2012 Olympics on Thu 24 May (Day 6 of 70) 7812 was used to take the Olympic torch and it's bearer (Chris Stokes) from Bewdley to Kidderminster with a brief stop outside West Midland Safari Park.[2]

Depot allocations
Depot Allocation Date
Bristol Bath Road January 1939
Newton Abbot August 1950
Plymouth Laira March 1959
Oswestry May 1960
Shrewsbury February 1963
Withdrawn
(Woodham Brothers)		 November 1965

References
  1. Blencoe, S.V. (1979). Life Begins at Forty, The Rescue and Resurrection of GWR Locomotive No 7812 Erlestoke Manor. Bewdley: Erlestoke Manor Fund. pp. 11, 31.
  2. London 2012 (25 May 2012). Olympic Torch Relay Day 6 Highlights - London 2012. YouTube.
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