Steam &Heritage Track Record
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‘Jubilee’ Kolhapur to return to the main line in 2022
TYSELEY-BASED ‘Jubilee’ No. 5593 Kolhapur could be steaming over the national network within the next two years, if ambitious plans announced by Vintage Trains (VT) come to fruition.
There have been many calls to return the Stanier ‘5XP’ to steam during the past two decades, and VT and Tyseley Locomotive Works (TLW) have always said the 4-6-0 would be overhauled.
However, the overhaul of flagship loco No. 7029 Clun Castle, maintenance of the operating fleet and other contract work has left No. 5593 low down the pecking order.
Commonwealth Games
No. 7029 is now back in traffic, the overhaul of classmate No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is well underway, and VT and TLW have decided the‘Jubilee’s’time has come, and have set their sights on the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as the target for Kolhapur’s comeback – ahead of the overhaul of‘Castle’No. 5080 Defiant.
Returning No. 5593 to the main line makes a lot of sense from a VT business point of view.
Compared to the‘Castles’it is a ‘gauge-friendly’loco and will be able to go almost anywhere on the network; in their heyday the ‘Jubilees’were familiar sights on many of the routes VT charters now traverse.
The locomotive is in good mechanical condition which, subject to any surprises, should enable TLW to meet the 2022 target. VT is already in discussions with the organisers of the Commonwealth Games with a view to providing steam-hauled services during the event.
‘Rightful place’
No. 5593 would be a fitting ambassador for VT, especially since many of the class were named after Commonwealth countries.
VT spokesman Denis Chick said: “There have been many requests to reinstate No. 5593 to its rightful place on the main line, and in particular, in crimson livery, a nice contrast to GWR green.
“The project to do just that is an ideal way to reinvigorate the whole Tyseley team following the disruption of Covid-19,
