West Coast Railways
West Coast Railway Company (WCRC) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator, based at Carnforth in Lancashire. The company operates charter trains throughout the year, many of which are hauled by its fleet of steam locomotives. The most famous of these is The Jacobite, which runs from Fort William to Mallaig in the West Highlands, and passes over the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct.
The company also owns and operates a fleet of diesel locomotives, which are primarily used to haul charter trains, but have also been hired to other railway operators. The fleet is mostly composes of Class 37 and Class 47 locomotives, but also includes the prototype passenger Class 57, no. 57601. The Class 37 locomotives were all purchased from Ian Riley Engineering, which ceased its spot-hire operations in mid-2004.
In 2005, WCWC won the contract to haul the Royal Scotsman luxury train from EWS. As a result, its two operational Class 37 locomotives and a Class 47 were repainted into Royal Scotsman maroon livery.
Fleet Details
Key: | In service | Withdrawn | Preserved | Under repair | Sold for further use | Scrapped |
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Number | Class | Name | Livery | Year Acquired | Previous Operator | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
08220 | 08 | - | BR Black | 1986 | ex-British Rail | Operational |
08678 | 08 | Ulverstonian | BR Blue | 1993 | ex-Glaxo, Ulverston | Operational |
37197 | 37 | - | Royal Scotsman Maroon | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Operational |
37235 | 37 | - | Trainload Grey | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Withdrawn |
37261 | 37 | - | Royal Scotsman Maroon | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Operational |
37423 | 37 | - | Trans-Rail | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Under repair |
47245 | 47 | - | Railfreight Distribution (Revised) | 2003 | ex-HNRC | Under repair |
47492 | 47 | - | Rail Express Systems | 2003 | ex-HNRC | Under repair |
47826 | 47 | Springburn | InterCity Swallow | 2005 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational - leased from Porterbrook |
47851 | 47 | Traction Magazine | BR Two Tone Green | 2005 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational - leased from Porterbrook |
47854 | 47 | - | Royal Scotsman Maroon | 2002 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational |
57601 | 57 | - | WCRC Maroon | 2003 | ex-First Great Western | Operational |