'Duke' meets the Standards | Bluebell Railway - Giants of Steam 2026 - 17-18/10/26

One of the Bluebell Railway's headline event this year, Giants of Steam, saw a focus on the British Railways Standard designs by Robert Riddles. Home based Standard 4MT Tank 80151 and Standard 5MT 73082 'Camelot' were joined by Class 8 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' and Standard 9F 92134, with all four locomotives taking part in a line-up at Horsted Keynes station on the Saturday.

Having returned to steaming on the mainline last year, 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' drew many crowds, not least to witness her final run of the weekend: A 500 tonne train made up of 12 Mk1 coaches and 92134 trailing the rear. Despite the BR Standard Classes being built in large numbers, 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' was the only example of its kind, constructed at Crewe Works in 1954 as a unique replacement for LMS Princess Royal Class 46202 'Princess Anne', following her destruction in the Harrow & Wealdstone crash of October 1952.

Visiting 9F 92134 from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway was notably paired with the restored tender of Bluebell's own 9F 92240, with fundraising currently ongoing for the locomotive's full overhaul, having last steamed in 2002. In addition to featuring four of British Railways' own locos, the weekend also hosted two Big Four designs, both with ties to BR:

Bulleid Battle of Britain Class 34059 'Sir Archibald Sinclair', based at the Bluebell Railway, was built in 1947 at the Southern Railway's works in Brighton to Oliver Bulleid's original specification, then numbered 21C159. In 1960, the loco was rebuilt by British Railways to a refined design by Ron G. Jarvis, removing Bulleid's air smoothed casing and replacing the chain-driven valve gear for more conventional Walschaerts valve gear.

A third visiting loco came in the form of Ivatt 2MT Tank 41313. This loco, an LMS design by George Ivatt, was one of final 30 members of the class built by British Railways at Crewe works for the Southern region, being outshopped in May 1952. She is one of four surviving members of the class, and is based on the Isle of Wight alongside sister loco 41298.

LINKS
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LOCOS & STOCK
BR Standard 9F 92134
BR Standard 5MT 73082 'Camelot'
BR Class 8 71000 'Duke of Gloucester'
SR Rebuilt Battle of Britain Class 34059 'Sir Archibald Sinclair'
BR(M) Ivatt 2MT Tank 41313
BR Standard 4MT Tank 80151

VIDEO CONTENTS
0:00 - 92134 - Freshfield Bank
1:30 - 73082 & 71000 - Freshfield Bank
2:39 - 41313 & 80151 - Horsted House Farm Bridge
3:38 - 34059 & 71000 - Leamland Bridge
5:40 - 73082 & 92134 - Horsted Footpath
6:45 - 80151 - Leamland Bridge
7:46 - 41313 & 71000 - Horsted Keynes
9:13 - 92134, 71000, 73082 & 80151 - Horsted Keynes
12:13 - 73082 - Horsted Keynes
13:48 - 34059 - Horsted Footpath
15:40 - 92134 - Hollywell
16:34 - 73082 - Leamland Bridge
17:30 - 71000 & 92134 - Horsted Footpath

Filmed on 17th & 18th October 2026.