| Erlestoke Manor | |
| Powertype: | Steam |
| Whytetype: | 4-6-0 |
| Uicclass: | 2'Ch2 |
| Leadingdiameter: | 3feet |
| Driverdiameter: | 5feet |
| Length: | 61feet |
| Wheelbase: | Loco: 27feet Loco & tender: 52feet |
| Width: | 8feet |
| Height: | 13feet |
| Minimumcurve: | 6chain normal, 5chain slow |
| Axleload: | (17LT) |
| Locoweight: | (68LT) full |
| Tenderweight: | (40LT) full |
| Fueltype: | Coal |
| Fuelcap: | (7LT) |
| Watercap: | 3500impgal |
| Cylindercount: | Two, outside |
| Cylindersize: | 18x |
| Firearea: | 22.1square feet |
| Fireboxarea: | 140square feet |
| Tubesandflues: | 1285.5square feet |
| Superheaterarea: | 160square feet |
| Boiler: | GWR Standard No. 14[1] |
| Boilerpressure: | 225psi |
| Tractiveeffort: | 273402NaN2 |
| Operator: | Great Western Railway British Railways |
| Operatorclass: | Manor |
| Builddate: | January 1939 |
| Fleetnumbers: | 7812 |
| Currentowner: | Erlestoke Manor Fund |
| Disposition: | Operational |
| Retiredate: | 1965 |
7812 Erlestoke Manor is a preserved GWR 7800 Class steam locomotive, operated by the Great Western Railway and later British Railways. Owned by the Erlestoke Manor Fund, as at December 2022 it was in operational condition on the Severn Valley Railway.
Built at Swindon Works in January 1939, it was first allocated to Bristol Bath Road depot. It was reallocated to in August 1950, and Plymouth Laira in March 1959. Transferred to Oswestry in May 1960, its final allocation was to in February 1963.
Withdrawn from British Railways service in November 1965, it was sent to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales.
The locomotive was purchased by the Erlestoke Manor Fund in June 1973. It was moved from Barry to a temporary home at the Dowty Railway Preservation Society, Ashchurch in May 1974, pending an eventual move to the Dean Forest Railway. However in 1976 Fund members approved a move to the Severn Valley Railway instead, where restoration was completed and the locomotive entered service in 1979.[2] Withdrawn in 1985, it returned to service on 12 February 2008, as part of the SVR's anniversary reopening train.
Presently one of three GWR 7800 Manor Class locomotives based at the SVR, the other two being 7802 Bradley Manor (which is also owned by the Erlestoke Manor Fund) and GWR 7819 Hinton Manor. 7812's boiler ticket expired in January 2018, after which the locomotive was moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works for overhaul. It re-entered service in April 2023.[3]
During the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay for the London 2012 Olympics, 7812 carried the Olympic torch and its bearer Chris Stokes from Bewdley to Kidderminster with a brief stop outside West Midland Safari Park.[4]
| Depot | Allocation Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Bath Road | January 1939 | |
| Newton Abbot | August 1950 | |
| Plymouth Laira | March 1959 | |
| Oswestry | May 1960 | |
| Shrewsbury | February 1963 | |
| Withdrawn (Woodham Brothers) | November 1965 |