Tyseley Locomotive Works 50th Anniversary

The 50th Anniversary of the Tyseley Locomotive Works was in late September 2018. There are regular open days held at Tyseley ever year. The site is run by Vintage Trains who restores old steam locomotives, and sometimes has them on the national network such as the Shakespeare Express.

Originally built in 1908 as the Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, Vintage Trains has been operating here since the mid to late 1960s restoring old steam locomotives. At one point the Tyseley Locomotive Works was known as the Birmingham Railway Museum, but the site is now only open to the public on certain open days during each year. They also attract vintage cars, traction engines and model railway clubs to the site. In September 2016, the famous Flying Scotsman paid a visit to Tyseley and Birmingham.

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Part of the site is now the West Midlands Railway Diesel Multiple-Unit Depot (formerly London Midland / Central Trains / British Rail), but here we are focussing on the vintage trains part of the site.

You will find that a lot of the trains are giving off steam (especially the steam locomotives on site). Most of the main loco's are positioned around the turntable in the middle.

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The turntable seen in 2016.

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No 1. Called Percy. Peckett and Sons 0-4-0ST. Lined Maroon. Built 1942.

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5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. GWR 4-6-0 4073 Castle Class. BR Green, Early Emblem. Built 1936.

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Seen on the turntable in September 2018 the recently restored 7029 Clun Castle. GWR 4-6-0 4073 Castle Class. BR Green, Late Crest. Built 1950.

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Seen in September 2016. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall. GWR 4-6-0 49xx Hall Class. GWR Green. Built 1931.

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Seen during September 2016 around the turntable. 5593 Kolhapur. 5XP Jubilee. Built in 1934. Now on display waiting a restoration.

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Seen on the open day of September 2018. 45596 Bahamas. LMS 4-6-0 5XP Jubilee. Built 1935. Used to be at the National Railway Museum in York. Moved to the Tyseley Locomotive Works in 2013 for restoration. Bahamas Locomotive Society have owned it since 1967.

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9600 is used on open days to pull the carriages so visitors can enjoy a train ride. It was not used in September 2018 (but was in September 2016). GWR 0-6-0PT 57xx Class. Built 1945.

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L94 London Transport seen pulling carriages with visitors enjoying a train ride up and down the line. You get on at Tyseley Warwick Road if you have tickets. Seen September 2018. GWR 0-6-0PT 57xx Class.Built 1930. Used on the London Underground from 1959 to 1971.

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Something you don't normally see much at Tyseley is 60103 The Flying Scotsman. It visited Birmingham and the Midlands in September 2016, and was at Tyseley Warwick Road for the open day. It also went on the Severn Valley Railway at the time, and you could also see it on the Snow Hill lines. It had come down from the National Railway Museum in York, and was making a nationwide tour after a decade long restoration of the famous engine!

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During the open day visits, you get a chance to see what locomotives that are undergoing restoration, or what they are building here.

In September 2016, 7029 Clun Castle was undergoing a full restoration. It was completed by October 2017. See the photo above of it on the turntable during the September 2018 open day.

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Another engine was seen in the same spot in September 2018 undergoing a restoration / rebuild. 4936 Kinlet Hall can be seen having an overhaul to the left. It was bought in 1981 by the Kinlet Hall Locomotive Company. It had operated on various heritage railways, first restoration completed at Tyseley in 1996. It needed a second restoration from summer 2016, and is now undergoing a complete overhaul. While 71000 The Impossible Dream was still to the right. More on that engine below.

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No 670 seen in September 2016. This was a completely new steam locomotive. They started to build it in 1986! But as of 2018 it has never been finished! It is a LNWR Bloomer Class 2-2-2 replica. Was 90% completed by 1990.

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A close up look at The Impossible Dream 71000 The Duke of Gloucester. Built in 1954. BR Standard Class 8 4-6-2. Seen at the September 2018 open day, it is still under going restoration. They need donations to help restore it. A long way to go.

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