As many people will be aware, April sees the Churnet Valley's long term guest N7 no. 69621 reach the end of its current boiler certificate. Once this has expired, the locomotive will be withdrawn from service prior to a return to its home-base at the East Anglia Railway Museum.
With this in mind, the CVR will be operating the N7 for one last time on the weekend of 11th & 12th April, which is coincidentally the railway's Sci-Fi weekend. Services will be running to the 2-train Yellow timetable with the N7 operating on the T1 diagram on both days, which sees the locomtive operate five return trips along the CVR only with its first train departing from Cheddleton at 10.32am.
These trains will be the locomotives final public services, so if you want t see the N7 in steam for one last time make sure you find your way to the Churnet Valley for this event.
69621 is the sole-surviving member of the LNER N7 class, that was built for operating suburban services around London and East Anglia along the lines of the former Great Eastern Railway Company. 134 of these locomotives were built, with 69621 being the final locomotive to be built at Stratford Works in 1924 following the transfer of locomotive construction to Doncaster as part of the Big Four Grouping.
The locomotive arrived at the CVR for the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations in 2012 and has proved a reliable locomotive for the railway, especially in 2013 when she handled the majority of the railway's services for the entire year due to delays with the overhaul of 6046.
**All subject to availability