Article appearing in SLS Journal
We are delighted to announce that the revered Stephenson Locomotive Society will publish an article written by founding Trust member Bruce Nixon concerning the LNWR George the Fifth class ‘Ptarmigan’ and its epic run in the forthcoming issue of the SLS Journal due out on the 15th March.
The Stephenson Locomotive Society came into existence in 1909 and is the preeminent society in the UK dedicated to the study of rail transport and of railway locomotion specifically. Named in honour of George Stephenson, its membership has included amatuers and professionals alike including great British CME’s such as William Stanier and Oliver Bulleid and the brilliant French mechanical Engineer Andre Chapelon. The SLS was instrumental in the preservation of the magnificent Stroudley LBSCR 0-4-2 ‘Gladstone’ for the National Collection and for the benefit of future generations. The SLS houses a vast collection of photographic and drawing material amassed over 100 years, which members have access to.
Of particular interest given our Trust’s aims is that the SLS is the custodian of a genuine LNWR survivor – Orion – an LNWR Alfred the Great class and the last surviving Webb Compound in the world. While Orion happens to be 9 1/2″ scale, she was built at Crewe Works by the London & North Western Railway over 100 years ago thus making her a genuine LNWR locomotive. Irrespective of her diminutive size, Orion is one of only a handful of former LNWR locomotives surviving in preservation anywhere in the world, to any scale, which makes it an important and fascinating piece of heritage.
We are excited and humbled to have an article about the feats of the Georges and about our efforts to build a new member of this class featured in the journal of the SLS. For those interested in joining the ranks of this illustrious society with its proud history, not least in the areas of preservation and heritage and its commitment to the study of railway transport old and new should visit the Society’s website:
