Erlestoke Manor Fund
EMF, The Railway Station,
Bewdley
,
We are a group of approximately 300 members and are the proud custodians of two standard gauge ex GWR Manor class locomotives; 7802 and 7812.
The Erlestoke Manor Fund originated in 1973 when four young gentlemen in the shape of John Hancock, Bob Marrows, Dave Martin & Bruce Chennel making a reservation for what professional boilersmiths considered to be the best of the 6 Manors that were at Dai Woodham's scrap yard in Barry. Frantic fundraising lead to the asking price from BR of £4000 + 10% tax to be achieved in the June, just days before a 50% price rise.
7812, 'Erlestoke' was the first to enter service on the Severn Valley Railway in September 1979 and ran through to 1985. In that time several mainline trips had been undertaken.
7802, 'Bradley' was purchased in 1979 from Dai Woodham's scrap yard as a source of spares for sister locomotive 7812. 'Bradley' first steamed in preservation in 1993 and ran through to 2000 when it was stopped for overhaul where it received the boiler from 7812. 7802 entered back into traffic in May 2002 and put up some sterling performances both on preserved metals and the national network where it achieved over 110 000 miles before being withdrawn from traffic at the end of 2010.
7802 is currently undergoing a major mechanical overhaul with the bottom end at Tyseley Locomotive Works and the boiler at Bridgnorth.
7812 entered back into traffic in 2008 and has since been a regular performer on the SVR.
