AN appeal has been made to help save a famous 91-year-old locomotive that used to regularly ‘thunder’ through Warrington.
Railway enthusiasts have launched the appeal to fix the iconic Princess Elizabeth, named after the late queen during her school years.
The appeal is to fund the £165,000 needed to repair the locomotive, which pulled crack express trains between London and Glasgow, after it suffered a major boiler failure in July 2021 – hours after pulling the luxury Northern Belle.
However, Clive Mojonnier, chairman of the Princess Elizabeth Society, has warned that the final bill for the beauty could be something close to half a million pounds.
“We have already removed her boiler to investigate but we won’t know the full situation until after the overhaul,” he said.
“Whatever the cost, it will be worth it because Lizzie is not just a locomotive, she is part of our nation’s heritage.”
Built originally for the old London, Midland and Scottish Region at Crewe and costing just £11,685, Princess Elizabeth still holds the record for the fastest non-stop steam train journey between London and Scotland.
Originally numbered 6201, she was renumbered 46201 when the railways were nationalised in 1948 but was withdrawn from service in 1962 after British Rail began turning to diesel locomotives.
Lizzie was destined for an ignominious end in a scrapyard before a group of enthusiasts bought her for £2,160 to save her from being turned into pots and pans.
The locomotive later played a major role in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 before pulling the Royal Train carrying the Queen and Prince Philip.
Later Lizzie became a firm favourite with passengers when she hauled the Northern Belle, once part of the iconic Orient Express group, over the spectacular Settle-Carlisle line.
Actor Bill Nighy raved over the train when the journey featured on Channel 5’s “The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys” programme.
The Northern Belle will make several visits to Warrington this year, starting with a trip to Edinburgh in May.
For more details about Princess Elizabeth Society and to donate to the appeal, see 6201.co.uk
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