Great Western Coffee Shop

It is with utmost pleasure that, on behalf of the Council, I am able to announce that preliminary negotiations for the celebrated LB&SCR locomotive "Gladstone" are now completed. This engine has been withdrawn from service and is at Brighton works, where the work of restoring her to her original condition and painting her in the famous old yellow livery is to be put in hand immediately. I am sure that all our members will appreciate fully the kindness of the Southern Railway Co. in helping us to carry out such a scheme as this, certainly the most ambitious scheme ever undertaken by our Society. We are, also, deeply indebted to the London & North Eastern Railway Co.. who have offered to find space for the "Gladstone" in their Railway Museum at York until such time as accommodation can be found in London, possibly at South Kensington Museum, in the course of a few years.

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On 20th September 1997 members of the Stephenson Locomotive Society met at the National Railway Museum, York, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of preservation by the Society of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway Stoudley "B" Class 0-4-2 No214 Gladstone. This was the first instance of preservation of a locomotive by a private body. Gladstone was built in 1882, went into service at Brighton in January 1883 and was withdrawn in December 1926, after running 1,346,918 miles.

214 Gladstone has been preserved by the Stephenson Locomotive Society, and is now at the National Railway Museum, in York.

The Clacton Express Preservation Group, which was formed to save the three-car express electric multiple unit Class 309 624 from scrap and restore it to working order, has announced that the benefactor who helped secure the initial purchase of the unit last year has decided to step away from the project.

However, this does not mark the end of the Clacton Express Preservation Group as it has engaged in a lot of discussions up to this point to ensure that it can find a way forward. The unit will be listed “For Sale” on the group’s website, with the priority being to keep all three carriages of the unit in one piece as a set. The ideal solution would be for a new benefactor to purchase the unit outright, with the Clacton Express Preservation Group coming as part of the package so it can continue to support the vehicles wherever they are located.