7808 Cookham Manor is a Great Western Railway 7800 'Manor' Class steam locomotive. It was built in 1938 at Swindon Works, withdrawn from service in December 1965 and purchased directly from British Railways for preservation by John Mynors, a member of the Great Western Society, in 1965–66. 'Cookham Manor' was the only 'Manor' Class locomotive to have been bought directly from BR. Initially it was stored at Ashchurch, until moving to Didcot in August 1970.
It was said to be considered highly by the crews that operated it, and unusually for the class, the locomotive was fitted with a larger water tender.
The locomotive cost £3,986 excluding the tender when built in 1938, and had travelled by 28 December 1963.
Allocations
The allocations of 'Cookham Manor' during its service for the GWR and British Railways.
Date LocationMarch 1938Old Oak CommonApril 1939GloucesterApril 1946OswestryDec 1953Bristol (St Philips Marsh)Dec 1954GloucesterJune 1959Newton AbbotSeptember 1960ExeterOctober 1960WorcesterDecember 1960TyseleySeptember 1962ReadingAugust 1964SwindonNovember 1964GloucesterDecember 1965Withdrawn
Preservation
The locomotive initially saw considerable main line use soon after preservation, but is now on static display at Didcot Railway Centre. In 1974, Cookham Manor piloted 6998 Burton Agnes Hall hauling the complete vintage train for the first time. In 1975, it appeared at Shildon for the Stockton and Darlington 150th Anniversary celebrations, along with 4 restored coaches and the society's Siphon G. The latter functioned as a mobile sales stand.
References
External links
Cookham Manor homepage Great Western Archive