Just a few months after the completion of its overhaul at Tyseley Locomotive Works and very successful runs over the Settle and Carlisle, LMS Jubilee class locomotive number 45596 Bahamas will be returning to Tyseley for the Vintage Trains/Tyseley Locomotive Works Open Days on June 22/23.

Bahamas will be in steam on both days and one of the big stars of the show alongside a number of other visitors and attractions but we are also pleased to announce that Bahamas will be at the head of six Vintage Trains railtours during its stay.

The railtours will run in the months of June and July as follows:

Saturday June 29 ^th - The Welsh Marches from Dorridge to Hereford

Thursday July 4 ^th – Vintage Dining Train from Birmingham Moor Street to Worcester

Saturday July 6 ^th – The Cotswold Explorer from Dorridge to Oxford

Saturday July 13 ^th – The Welsh Marches from Dorridge to Hereford

Saturday July 20 ^th – The Chester Venturer from Dorridge to Chester

Saturday July 27 ^th – The White Rose from Dorridge to York

Alastair Meanley, General Manager of Tyseley Locomotive Works said:

‘We were very proud to work with the Bahamas Locomotive Society on their locomotive so not only will it be great to see it back at Tyseley but also for it to perform on our own routes here in the south. We have some challenging gradients against us both in the Cotswolds and across the Welsh Marches and we’re confident that Bahamas will take them all in its stride’.

Keith Whitmore, Chairman of The Bahamas Locomotive Society added:

‘We are absolutely delighted to be working with Vintage Trains at this exciting time for the company. Following the formal launch of our locomotive at our Ingrow home base on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, it seems so appropriate to see Bahamas back at Tyseley Locomotive Works following its successful 5-year overhaul there and working with a team who we now regard as our friends. In addition to familiar ground, Bahamas will also be covering some new territory’.

45596 will be returning to the Welsh Marches line where historically the engine has put in some impressive performances. It was also the scene for the loco’s first run for the Bahamas Locomotive Society in October 1972 when it hauled one of the first ‘return to steam’ railtours.

For more information on the Bahamas-hauled railtours and to purchase tickets, please visit www.VintageTrains.co.uk