Train swap

Yesterday on my way to work on Tuesday it was crazy!
The front of the outlet center was full of cranes and low loaders and workmen in orange.
And barriers everywhere!
This is why:

The Hinton Manor 7819 was pulled out of the front of the shopping centre after ten years greeting shoppers and was replaced by its sister train, the 7821 Ditcheat Manor, which was moved from Steam Museum.

In turn STEAM welcomed the Edwardian 2818 which was brought down from the National Railway Museum in York, having been built on the site of the GWR more than a century ago.

Tina Cumpstey, centre manager at the McAruthurGlen Designer Outlet Village, told the Advertiser: “We’ve been working for well over a year in conversation with Severn Valley, West Somerset Valley, STEAM and of course MacArthur Glen.

“That was a little bit nerve racking because they are large panes of glass.

“it’s all been down to the planning, the team have done a brilliant job.”

“When Severn Valley contacted me to say they needed their train back the first question was I need a replacement because it’s so important for the heritage of the centre and for Swindon to replace the trains.

“We recognise that it’s a spectacle. I was very keen not to do it overnight because I wanted people to see it so people could come out and enjoy it.
The Hinton Manor 7819, weighing approximately 50 tonnes, was loaded onto a lorry by engineers in the morning, and will return to Severn Valley Railway where it is hoped to be restored and will go back into service on the 16-mile heritage line running along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster.

Oliver Macdermitt, aged six, who came from Royal Wootton Bassett and waited with his mum to watch the train leave, told the Advertiser: “I like the cab at the back the most, where the driver sits. The best bit is when they go really fast.”

Train enthusiast Ian Galloway, 79, from Cape Town South Africa was there to see the spectacle with his daughter Aileen while visiting friends in Wantage. “It’s just amazing to see this incredible railway history,” said Ian.

“I’ve got models of GWR trains at home, you name them I’ve got them. I could spend hours here, it’s not something you see every day. People in Swindon are very privileged to have this all around them. We don’t have much train preservation in my country.”