City of Wells sold to East Lancashire Railway after £320k fundraising success

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Brighton-built ‘West Country’ Light Pacific No. 34092 City of Wells can officially call the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) its permanent home after the Bury line successfully completed the locomotive’s purchase following an 18-month fundraising campaign.

The 1949-built Bulleid 4-6-2 was first offered for sale in 2017 by its owners Richard Greenwood, John Adams and Graham Bentley, who after 46 years of maintaining and operating it had decided to put No. 34092 on the market. 

Visiting ‘West Country’ No. 34092 City of Wells prepares to cross the level crossing at Levisham station with a North Yorkshire Moors Railway service for Pickering on March 31. CHRIS GEE 

Negotiations between the owners and the ELR resulted in the railway being given the option to buy the loco for an undisclosed figure, but only if it could raise more than £300,000 (target of £340,920) towards these costs before the end of 2018. 

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