On Saturday, 7 June 2025, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway helped celebrate the legacy of The Standard 4 Locomotive Society, as the society gifted two locomotives to the railway. 78022 & 75078.
From Society to Railway: A Historic Transition
The day marked not just celebration but transformation: after over half a century of preserving Standard locomotives, the Society has decided to dissolve and transfer ownership of both engines to the KWVR Preservation Society. They leave their guardianship in excellent condition—thanks to recent boiler and mechanical overhauls supported by the railway.
This transition marks the end of an era but also the beginning of a new chapter — one that ensures these treasured locomotives will continue to steam through the Worth Valley for generations to come.
Double‑headed Steam Power: 75078 & 78022
Two treasured Standard engines took centre stage:
- 75078 – Built at Swindon in January 1956, retired in July 1966, rescued from Barry scrapyard in June 1972, and restored to steam in February 1977. Since then, it’s remained a KWVR favourite, with its current boiler ticket valid well into the 2030s
- 78022 – Constructed at Darlington in 1954, withdrawn in February 1967 and rescued from Barry in 1975. The restoration was completed in 1993; after a display period, it returned to service in 2018 after another overhaul
Both locomotives turned heads as they double-headed regular Worth Valley services, delivering a powerful tribute to mid-20th-century British Rail (BR) engineering.
Matthew Stroh, KWVRPS
The Standard 4 Loco Preservation Society were true pioneers of the heritage railway movement, clubbing together to purchase a Standard 4 and later a Standard 2 in the early 1970s. Both loco’s have been stalwarts of the Railway’s motive power fleet for over four decades after the S4LPS spent their first 5 years restoring 75078. We are honoured that they have now chosen to donate the fleet to the Railway, passing the custodianship to the charity so that their future is secure. The Railway will be eternally grateful both for the Society’s gift, and also for their members’ many decades of care, attention and hard graft that means the locomotives are still today in such excellent operational condition.