Youngsters can breathe a sigh of relief. Father Christmas WILL be able to spend some time in Ruddington in the run-up to the festive season after all!
The popular Great Central Railway Nottingham (GCR{N}) “Santa Specials” – which are always hauled by heritage steam – were put in jeopardy at the start of this month. That’s because Stanier 8F-8274 – the only operational passenger steam locomotive based in Ruddington – suffered a serious failure. 
An inspection revealed the bad news of multiple cracks in the firebox and a very long and expensive journey to get the engine back into operation. It led to diesel-only trains running instead last weekend and to all services being CANCELLED today. It’s a sad loss for train enthusiasts as it was believed to be one of only THREE remaining Stanier 8F Class locos still running in the world.
However the GCR(N) Facebook page has revealed some good news of a timely substitute:
“We are pleased to announce that LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 – 46521 will be joining us on loan from w/c 16th Oct courtesy of our friends at GCR PLC and the Loughborough Standard Locomotive Group. The loco will be hauling all our Santa Services and our post Christmas trains too.”
This will come as great news to kids of all ages – and give Ruddington trainspotters the chance to see a different heritage steam engine plying the tracks between Ruddington and Loughborough Junction for a while. It’s thought we’ll see it running here for the first time on Sunday October the 29th.
Sadly the original, bad news about 8F-8274 came on the weekend of one of the most momentous weekends in GCR(N)’s history – the installation of a new bridge deck over the Midland Main Line in Loughborough to rejoin two sections of The Great Central Railway divided for almost half a century. Once that work is eventually completed, sharing locos between the two currently separate heritage lines will be very much simpler!
We’ll bring you further updates via RUDDINGTON.info as we get them.
