The Golden Age of Steam

The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Great Western Castle steam engine is making it's first passenger train journey in over 45 years, on 19th October 2008, and it will be a pretty special day for steam enthusiasts.

The Earl was one of the best known express engines back in the age of steam.

The engine has undergone a ten year restoration project at the Tyseley Locomotive Works to restore her to her former glory. The Earl will be undertaking the return journey from Snow Hill Station to Stratford-upon-Avon. Along the journey the engine could reach speeds of up to 75mph.

Chairman of Vintage Trains, Michael Whitehouse said: "The 19th October will be a very special day in the history of steam travel.

"Back in the 1930's, the Castle engine officially hauled the world's fastest train and, whilst today's Pendolino's have now broken that record, you just can't beat the exhilaration of travelling on a steam train".

Open day

There's also a public open day at the Tyseley works to celebrate the restoration of the Earl, taking place on 26th October.

You'll be able to get up close to a number of steam engines in steam, including the Earl and it's also a chance to see inside the restoration workshop and meet the people responsible for bringing her back on track.

The above events are not free (though children are admitted free to the open day if accompanied by fee paying adult). So if you're interested in taking a a trip on the Earl or going along to the open day, take a look at the Vintage Trains website.

Les Ross on board the 'Les Ross'

Les Ross and Tyseley

BBC WM presenter Les Ross is a well known train enthusiast and can often be seen at Tyseley. His radio show will be coming from the site on Thursday 23rd October. He'll be meeting the volunteers who help restore engines, as well as talking to some celebrity train enthusiasts such as Pete Waterman. (We'll be adding some of the audio highlights to this webpage).

The works

Tyseley Locomotive Works is the engineering subsidiary of the Birmingham Railway Museum Trust, which is a registered educational charity.

The Trust was established to preserve and demonstrate the steam locomotives in the Tyseley collection.