West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the company became the first privately owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company.
History
Before 1998
After British Rail closed the Lakeside branch to passengers on 6 September 1965, a group of enthusiasts chaired by Dr. Peter Beet formed the Lakeside Railway Estates Company, with the idea of preserving both the line and Carnforth MPD, to provide a complete steam operating system. After agreeing to rent out part of the Carnforth MPD site, but with the counter the development of the A590 road meaning that the complete vision was unsuccessful, Beet developed the visitor attraction Steamtown Carnforth, which became a mecca for steam enthusiasts from 1967.
In 1974, Sir Bill McAlpine became a shareholder in the company, with his 4472 Flying Scotsman making Carnforth its home. McAlpine subsequently acquired a controlling interest in the company, in order to fund the purchase of the complete site including the track from British Rail.
In light of McAlpine's declining interest, in 1990 his controlling interest in Steamtown Railway Museum was sold to David Smith, who over the following years has bought out most of the minority shareholders. With increasing Health & Safety Executive regulations, and an increased reliance on revenue from supplying and servicing steam locomotives to power enthusiast trains, the commercial decision was taken not to reopen Carnforth as a museum or visitor attraction for the 1998 season. Steamtown Railway Museum still exists today as the holding company, and operates an extensive railway repair and operating facility on the site.
After 1998 In June 1998, West Coast Railway Company was granted an operating licence to become a train operating company. WCR is a spot hire company which provides locomotives, stock and crews to other companies within the rail industry. The company operates charter trains, some of which are hauled by steam locomotives. The company provides stock and crews for steam workings on the national network, and for diesel tours. The headquarters, engineering base and depot are at Carnforth, where locomotives and stock are stored and maintained, and where contract work is undertaken for other operators.
WCR own and operated steam locomotive 5972 Olton Hall under the guise of Hogwarts Castle for the Harry Potter film series, with the Hogwarts Express.
March 2015 incident and operating licence suspension
On 7 March 2015, the 16:35 east bound Cathedrals Express operated by WCR ( to ) approaching from , headed by Battle of Britain class No. 34067 Tangmere and 13 coaches passed signal SN45 at danger at on the Great Western Main Line, overrunning the signal by and coming to a stand blocking the junction. This occurred less than a minute after an eastbound/up service from to London Paddington (operated by an InterCity 125 set), approaching via the Badminton line, had cleared the junction at . The signal was being maintained at danger to ensure the safety of the InterCity service after it had passed through the junction, as is signalling practice.
The incident was investigated by track owner Network Rail (NR), the Office of Rail Regulation and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB). The RAIB launched an investigation into the incident on 27 March, releasing a statement in which they described the incident as a "dangerous occurrence". According to the RAIB, the incident was caused by driver error, after the traincrew isolated the Automatic Warning System and Train Protection & Warning System on approach to a temporary speed restriction in the area of line immediately after signal SN43, the signal before signal SN45. These were not reinstated on approach to signal SN45; as a result, the train was not automatically stopped by the safety systems as it passed the signal at danger. down the line, the train was manually brought to a stop by the driver; it came to a rest across Wootton Bassett Junction.
WCR and NR met on 30 March 2015. NR subsequently expressed the view that at that meeting "WCR demonstrated that its controls, communication and commitment following the recent SPAD were inadequate" and that since then "the response by the senior management of WCR to the issues raised" had been "inadequate", suspending WCR's operator's licence effective from midnight 3 April 2015. Previously operators had been banned from certain routes, but this was a total network ban unprecedented since privatisation. The suspension notice states:
WCR stated that it was in negotiations with NR regarding the terms of the suspension, and also with other train operating companies in order to prevent the cancellation of many scheduled WCR operated railtours during the period of suspension.
On 8 May 2015, Network Rail lifted the track access ban off the company. This meant that the company could continue its scheduled tours for the coming months including the first of the Jacobite railtours.
On 9 December 2015, the Office of Rail & Road (ORR) announced that the WCR and the driver of the train involved in the incident at Wootton Bassett were to be prosecuted for offences contrary to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. An initial hearing was scheduled at Swindon Magistrates Court for 11 January 2016. The case came to trial at Swindon Crown Court on 27 June 2016. WCR and driver Melvyn Cox both pleaded guilty. WCR was fined £200,000 and £64,000 costs. Cox was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for eighteen months. He was also ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work.
Other Incidents in 2015 On 13 June 2015 it was reported that a service had moved forward at at the same time as the doors were open. This was attributed to a miscommunication between the guard and the driver. On 19 August 2015 it was reported that the company had no systems in place for keeping drivers updated with route changes, instead getting updates from other operators, and no system for managing driver training. On 5 September 2015 it was reported that a service had hit the buffer at . This was not reported to the ORR, contrary to RIDDOR rules. On 15 September 2015 it was reported that risk assessments for steam operation were outdated, and staff were unaware of them. On 2 October 2015 it was reported that a service had an unauthorised TPWS activation at Doncaster signal 264 at Hexthorpe Junction, between and , whilst a locomotive and support coach was reversing. On 24 November 2015 it was reported that the ORR had temporarily prohibited WCR from operating steam trains on the mainline rail network, following an initial investigation into an incident near on 2 October 2015 when 45231 The Sherwood Forester was hauling a WCR 'Spirit of the Lakes' charter train and the footplate crew of the engine had isolated the Train Protection & Warning System equipment which would have applied the emergency brake if the driver made a safety critical error. On 26 November 2015 it was reported that a service had moved at , approximately 1 meter, with the doors open and passengers boarding. On 1 December 2015 it was reported that an Improvement Notice was served on WCR following an inspection at Southall Railway Depot, due to issues around managing health and safety risks.
February 2016 Prohibition Notice On 17 February 2016 the ORR issued a Prohibition Notice to WCR preventing it running its heritage rail services on the mainline railway. The notice related to concerns about WCR's management of safety, following a number of incidents over the past year. Under the terms of the notice, the company was not able to operate trains on the mainline network until the ORR was satisfied its governance and operations meet industry practice. Steps the company were required to take included: the introduction of clearer governance structures with proper accountability for safety; more robust risk assessments; and enhanced processes for managing staff with a focus on safety culture. Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at ORR, said the decision to revoke the company's safety certificate had "not been taken lightly". The track access ban was lifted on 23 March 2016.
June 2023 Prohibition Notice
On 9 June 2023, a safety inspector attended the Jacobite service and found health and safety breaches. A prohibition notice was issued, coming into effect on 15 June 2023, preventing West Coast Railways from running the Jacobite until the issues discovered were rectified. Service was resumed on 21 August 2023.
January 2024 Exemption Revoked In January 2024, the Office of Road and Rail issued West Coast Railways with a certificate of revocation for the exemption of its hinged door rolling stock with immediate effect from 11 January (the exemption was originally intended to expire on 29 February). Following the revocation of their exemption to run hinged door rolling stock until the end of February, West Coast Railways issued a statement: “We are extremely disappointed by this decision. We remain committed to working with the ORR to agree how we can safeguard the future of our heritage services. We are already considering a range of options and have asked the ORR to allow the current exemption to run its course, to give us time to put forward detailed proposals."
March 2024 New Request Sent In March 2024, WCR announced that due to the ongoing issues with their coaches all Jacobite services which were due to start on 28 March were to be suspended until further notice. A new exemption request was submitted to the ORR on 8 March to allow the use of their Mk1 and Mk2 coaches for their 2024 railtour season alongside 2024's Jacobite services. In April 2024, it was confirmed that the deliberation for a new exemption request would take four months. The request was later declined due to missing paperwork.
2026 Revised Application Sent In June 2026 it was announced that following the submition of a revised application to the Office of Rail & Road in early 2026, the ORR are soon due to tell West Coast Railways whether its latest attempt to gain exemption to run BR Mk1 and MK2 stock without Central Door Locking has been successful. The revised application has requested a 13 year exemption until 2039 to permit the fitment of CDL to the coaches alongside develop the technology.
June 2026 derailment
On 14 June, a WCR locomotive was involved in a derailment during a run-round at Mallaig.
Services Jacobite
WCR operates several regular steam-hauled excursions every summer. The most famous of these trains is The Jacobite (named for the historic Jacobite political movement). It runs along the West Highland Line from to , a highlight of the route being the crossing of the Glenfinnan Viaduct. It runs Monday to Fridays from the middle of May until the end of October and also runs at weekends from the end of June until the end of August.
In 2011, WCR added a second Jacobite service, leaving Fort William in the afternoons from the start of June until the end of August running on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 2012 saw this second service increase to five days a week, between June and August. In July 2023, all services were suspended following an inspection by the ORR. The morning services resumed on 9 August and the afternoon services restarted on 18 August.