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 (named for the historic Jacobite political movement), 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, WCRC 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 a revised maroon livery, based on that of the Royal Scotsman carriages.
In late 2005, WCRC sold its two operational Class 37 locomotives to Direct Rail Services, and received four Class 33 locomotives in exchange.
Fleet Details
| Key: | In service | Withdrawn | Preserved | Under repair | Sold for further use | Scrapped |
|---|
| 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 |
| 33025 | 33 | - | DRS Blue | 2005 | ex-Direct Rail Services | Operational |
| 33029 | 33 | - | DRS Blue | 2005 | ex-Direct Rail Services | Operational |
| 33030 | 33 | - | DRS Blue | 2005 | ex-Direct Rail Services | Stored |
| 33207 | 33 | - Jim Martin | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2005 | ex-Direct Rail Services | Operational |
| 37158 | 37 | - | Maroon Undercoat | 2006 | ex-Preservation | Withdrawn |
| 37197 | 37 | Loch Laidon | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Sold to DRS in 2005 |
| 37214 | 37 | Loch Laidon | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2005 | ex-Preservation | Operational |
| 37 | - | Trainload Grey | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Withdrawn | |
| 37248 | 37 | - | Mainline Freight Blue | 2005 | ex-EWS | Sold for preservation in 2006 |
| 37261 | 37 | Loch Arkaig | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Sold to DRS in 2005 |
| 37423 | 37 | - | Trans-Rail | 2004 | ex-Ian Riley Engineering | Sold to DRS in 2006 |
| 47245 | 47 | - | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2003 | ex-HNRC | Operational |
| 47826 | 47 | Springburn | InterCity Swallow | 2005 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational |
| 47851 | 47 | Traction Magazine | BR Two Tone Green | 2005 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational |
| 47854 | 47 | - | WCRC Maroon (Revised) | 2002 | ex-Virgin Trains | Operational |
| 57601 | 57 | - | WCRC Maroon | 2003 | ex-First Great Western | Operational |
External links
