7822 Foxcote Manor BR Lined Green (late crest)
The most requested number/livery combination for our second run, No. 7822 Foxcote Manor was the second of the British Railways 78XX locomotives to be constructed, being new to Oswestry in December 1950. It received lined green exactly seven years later after a short period in plain black while allocated to Chester, but spent most of the rest of its days on the Cambrian based at Oswestry, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. Another of the famed Royal Train quintet that was bulled up under the supervision of Oswestry shed foreman – the last holder of that title – A.E. Swannick in August 1963, it could also be found regularly leading the Cambrian Coast Express to and from Aberystwyth among other passenger, milk/parcels and freight duties. It was taken out of service in November 1965 in the great cull of the class that saw ten examples withdrawn and just two left operational. Happily, despite having spent the best part of a decade at Dai Woodham’s Barry scrapyard, it was preserved by the Foxcote Manor Society in January 1975 and after a decade at Oswestry it found its way to the Llangollen Railway where the rest of its restoration took place. It worked trains for the first time in 23 years in April 1988. It was stopped in August 2023 and is currently at Tyseley undergoing a major overhaul.