Wightwick Hall

6989 Wightwick Hall is a Modified Hall Class built for the Great Western Railway in 1948.  It was withdrawn from service in 1964 and has been under restoration ever since.  It was finally completed at the end of last year and today was its first public steaming at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre where all the work has been done.  I managed a ride behind it on the first public journey.

There is only a half mile length of track for it to run on so the engine will no doubt be hired out to heritage railways now it is complete.  The Centre was also running brake van trips behind an industrial engine on a parallel track alongside Wightwick Hall, so it was possible to get shots of it in action.  I've added an extra of the brake van ride from which I took the main shot.

A very dull and wet day in advance of the expected storm so I've had to lighten both shots quite a bit.