REVIEW OF THE MONTH
Bahamas
Peter Skelton
Purchase direct from Bahamas Locomotive Society, 22 Windsor Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 5JR. Go to bahamas45596.co.uk for details. Description: Hardback, 282x 225mm, 256pp. ISBN: 9780956929228. Price: £35.
An interesting fact in the story of doublechimney LMS ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas, once the pride of Stockport Edgeley shed and now back on the main line, is that it almost went to Barry scrapyard. If it had, would it have been preserved?
That’s a simplification, because the final couple of years of the Stanier threecylinder engine in BR ownership show how close it also came to going to the less sympathetic Drapers in Hull. Its purchase by the Bahamas Locomotive Society required a lot of behind-the-scenes string pulling at a very high level and only a private donation of £3,000 finally prevented it all ending in tears.
No. 45596’s history and subsequent adventures are recorded in immense detail and all the
