Bahamas was built by the North British Locomotive Co in Glasgow for the LMS Railway in 1934.  In 1961, a double exhaust system was fitted as an experiment to improve performance, the last such attempt by British Railways on their fleet of steam locomotives.  Bahamas was purchased by the Society in 1967, following its withdrawal from British Railways service at Stockport Edgeley motive power depot. Its recent and most extensive overhaul, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will see 45596 working on the mainlines.

The ‘Coal Tank’ was built at the Crewe works of the London & North Western Railway in 1888.  It was withdrawn from service in 1958 and became the first steam locomotive to be preserved by public subscription.  In 1963, it was presented to the National Trust, from whom it was placed into the care of the Bahamas Locomotive Society during 1973.

Nunlow was built by the Hudswell Clarke & Co of Leeds in 1938 for the cement works of G & T Earle Ltd at Hope in Derbyshire, where it spent all its working life.  By 1968, it had become surplus to requirements and was purchased by the Bahamas Locomotive Society the following year. Nunlow was the first locomotive to undergo overhaul by the Society’s volunteer members, which was completed in 1971. Its boiler certificate expired in 2018.

Tiny was built in 1949 by Andrew Barclay, Son & Co Ltd at Kilmarnock.  It worked at the Bradford Road gas works in Manchester, and was donated to the Society in 1970 by the North West Gas Board.  Tiny requires a major overhaul of its boiler before it can become operational.

James was built in 1959 by Lincoln locomotive company, Ruston & Hornsby. A type 165DE, the loco was built for the steel company Stewarts & Lloyd Ltd of Bilston, Staffordshire, where it received its name.

The crane tank, Southwick, was built in 1942 by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn for the William Doxford & Sons Ltd shipbuilders of Sunderland.  It was taken out of use in 1971 and purchased for preservation.  It is currently undergoing overhaul by BLS volunteers.

Photo by flikr user Hugh Llewelyn

Lord Mayor was built by Hudswell Clarke & Co of Leeds in 1893 as a Contractors’ locomotive for Edmund Nuttall, Ship Canal, Salford, where its function was to carry materials such as stone or bricks around construction sites. The small size of such locomotives was determined by the need for easy haulage by road, on a low loader towed by a steam traction engine. The engine was preserved in 1969, being purchased by VCT in 1990. The locomotive normally resides at the Museum of Rail Travel.

Sir Berkeley is a typical Victorian Contractors' Locomotive, somewhat more ornate than Lord Mayor. Built in 1890 by Manning Wardle as Works No 1210, the engine originally worked for Logan & Hemingway and was used to construct the Great Central Railway. It went to Cranford Quarries, from where it was rescued by Roger Crombleholme in 1964. Now owned by the VCT, this engine is normally based at Middleton Railway as a classic example of Victorian engineering.

Bellerophon was built by Haydock Foundry in 1874. Unusually for the time the locomotive had outside motion. The engine worked all its life in the Haydock area, becoming part of the National Coal Board in 1948. The engine was preserved in 1964 on the KWVR, being purchased by VCT in 1981. Bellerophon is now unique, not only for having a Stephenson/Gooch valve gear but because she is the last of the only six engines ever built at the Haydock Foundry. The loco is normally based on the Foxfield Light Railway.

This four-wheeled coach was built in Gorton, Manchester, by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) which became the Great Central Railway (GCR). It is a “tri-composite”, having compartments for all three Classes - one First Class, one Second Class and two Third Class compartments, with a central luggage compartment.

This carriage was built at Derby in 1886 and has a central baggage compartment, two First Class and two Third Class compartments.

The Worth Valley branch line was part of the Midland Railway, so this type of carriage would have carried passengers up and down this line in the early years of the 20th century.

This coach was built in Doncaster in 1888 by the Great Northern Railway. Its interior would have been quite comfortable, compared with other Third Class carriages of the same period. The Guard’s compartment had “ducketts” by which means he could view down the length of the train.

Built by the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster in 1898 as one of a batch of 36 vehicles to the design of E F Howlden, Carriage Superintendent. Teak was of course used for framing, panelling and beading, and this would have received many coats of varnish - typically 18 coats.

This carriage, together with the other two “Dreadnought” carriages, represents the pinnacle of the Metropolitan Railway’s coaching stock. Nearly one hundred “Dreadnoughts” were built between 1910 and 1923. No. 427  is a seven-compartment Brake Third.

This carriage is a nine-compartment Third, built in 1919. The three Metropolitan Railway carriages owned by the Vintage Carriages Trust were all initially purchased privately by Mr David Kitton from London Transport for the then-proposed Westerham Valley Railway preservation project.

This carriage is a seven-compartment First, built in 1923. First class accommodation was withdrawn from the Metropolitan Line of London Transport from 6th October 1941. This type of carriage survived until electrification reached Amersham in 

September 1961.

Although often referred to as the “Chatham” coach this vehicle was actually built for the newly formed Southern Railway. In design, however, it is almost identical to vehicles built by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway for Boat Train traffic to and from the London Termini and Dover or Folkestone. Built in 1924.

This carriage was built by British Railways, Southern Region, to the design of O V S Bulleid, who was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway from 1937 and from 1948 of the nationalised railway.  It is the only steel clad coach in VCT’s collection but in contrast to British Railways own design of Mark 1 stock, which were all steel, S1469S has timber framing and a timber roof. Thus, except for a few detail differences, such as mirrors being engraved “BR” instead of “SR”, S1469S is a true Bulleid design. Built in 1950.