At the next meeting of Congleton Dane Probus Club on Monday the 17th September our speaker will be John Hastings-Thomson who is a retired teacher living in Derbyshire, a lifelong railway enthusiast and a director of the LMS Patriot Project. He has a particular interest in the LMS and is a founder member of the LMS Society. He is a volunteer at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Derbyshire, where he drives and fires the railway’s steam locomotives.
At the next meeting of Congleton Dane Probus Club on Monday the 17th September our speaker will be John Hastings-Thomson who is a retired teacher living in Derbyshire, a lifelong railway enthusiast and a director of the LMS Patriot Project. He has a particular interest in the LMS and is a founder member of the LMS Society. He is a volunteer at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Derbyshire, where he drives and fires the railway’s steam locomotives.
In 2008 a project was set up to build a new LMS Patriot Locomotive as none had been preserved. The name chosen for it, following a competition in “Steam Railway” Magazine was “The Unknown Warrior.” Since then nearly £2,500,000 has been raised and all the major components manufactured. The project is now working towards final assembly and it is hoped that the locomotive will be operating on the mainline in time to commemorate the centenary of the return of the body of the Unknown Warrior to Britain in November 1920. It is planned for the locomotive to be on display to the public at The Crewe Heritage Centre on Sunday 11th November this year.
The meeting will be held at the Lion and Swan and will start at 10.30 as usual.