British Railways 4-6-2 No. 34092 'City of Wells'
Bury, Lancashire, UK 		Location: East Lancashire Railway
Status: Operational
Posted: Apr 18, 2025 @ 06:04:23 by Russell Newman
For maintenance reasons the visit of ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells", to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for their Railway 200 Cotswold Festival of Steam has sadly had to be cancelled as work in still ongoing and the locomotive would not be ready in time for the visit then.
Posted: Feb 7, 2025 @ 06:02:46 by Russell Newman
The ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells", will be visiting the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for their Railway 200 Cotswold Festival of Steam from the 24th to 26th of May 2025.
Posted: Apr 3, 2024 @ 13:04:41 by Russell Newman
The ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells", is making her second visit to the Swanage Railway for their Strictly Bulleid 2 Gala on the weekend of the 7th to 9th June 2024, which see the biggest gathering of ex Southern Railway Bulleid Pacific Locomotives in preservation and more bigger then the first Strictly Bulleid Gala in 2017.
Posted: Oct 1, 2023 @ 08:10:54 by Dale W Fickés
Operational again 9/2023.
Posted: Sep 30, 2023 @ 14:09:54 by Russell Newman
The overhaul on ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" is now completed, as the locomotive is operational again and has returned to traffic at the East Lancashire Railway in time for their upcoming Autumn Steam Gala on the 13th to 15th of October 2023. Most of the overhaul which was fast tracked was focused on the boiler and firebox with work on retubing and other work carried out as only a substantial amount of work was done on the bottom of the locomotive. Following a successful steam test No. 34092 is now back in service again.
Posted: Jan 2, 2023 @ 10:01:53 by Russell Newman
Having worked her final trains at the East Lancashire Railway, ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" have finally been withdrawn from service having come to the end of her ten year boiler ticket and will now enter the workshops at Bury for her overhaul to begin.
Posted: Nov 22, 2022 @ 05:11:11 by Russell Newman
The ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Class Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" is still operational and will be hauling Santa Specials at the East Lancashire Railway over the Christmas season, her last days in service will be over New Years Weekend on the 31st of December 2022 to January 2nd 2023. After this No. 34092 "City of Wells" will be withdrawn from service for her 10 year overhaul.
Posted: Oct 18, 2022 @ 15:10:48 by Russell Newman
Having hauled her very last trains during the East Lancashire Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala, ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" has now been withdrawn from service for her 10 year overhaul.
Posted: Aug 5, 2022 @ 14:08:23 by Russell Newman
The ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" will be visiting the Spa Valley Railway for the very first time as the 2nd visiting locomotive for their 25th Anniversary Gala from the 26th to 29th of August 2022. No. 34092 will also stay a bit longer at the Spa Valley Railway for a ‘City of Wells Steam Up’ on the 3rd and 4th of September 2022.
Posted: Sep 12, 2021 @ 14:09:36 by Dale W Fickes
For reasons of accuracy please see my note relating to No. 62005. In this instance ‘Southern Railway’ should be replaced by “British Railways”, the locomotive having been delivered in September 1949!
Posted: Aug 5, 2021 @ 13:08:23 by Russell Newman
Ex Southern Railway Bulleid West Country Light Pacific No. 34092 "City of Wells" is to make her first visit to the Mid-Hants Railway as their star visiting locomotive for their Somerset and Dorset themed Autumn Steam Gala on from the 1st to 3rd of October 2021.
Posted: Aug 23, 2019 @ 15:08:53 by Russell Newman
Sorry its the 19th to 22nd of September 2019 that 34092 will visit the Severn Valley Railway for their Autumn Steam Gala.
Posted: Aug 23, 2019 @ 15:08:58 by Russell Newman
No. 34092 "City of Wells" will visit the Severn Valley Railway for the very first time to be part their Southern themed Autumn Steam Gala on the 19th to 22nd of October 2019.
Posted: Jun 4, 2019 @ 05:06:25 by Russell Newman
No. 34092 "City of Wells" has been loaned the tender from No. 34067 "Tangmere" as her own tender has develop a fault and is under repair. The loaning of 34067s tender will let 34092 continue in service.
Posted: Mar 30, 2019 @ 10:03:14 by Russell Newman
The East Lancashire Railway has successfully purchase No. 34092 "City of Wells" from her previous owners after successfully raising funds to buy the locomotive. No. 34092 is now part of the East Lancashire Railways running fleet onwards.
Posted: Mar 25, 2019 @ 05:03:39 by Russell Newman
No. 34092 "City of Wells" is to visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to replace No. 60009 "Union of South Africa" for the season opening from March 30th to April 7th 2019.
Posted: Jul 19, 2018 @ 06:07:58 by Russell Newman
No. 34092 "City of Wells" is also visiting the Great Central Railway for their Autumn Steam Gala from the 4th to the 7th of October 2018 as well. This GCR will see 34092 rekindle its preservation days on the mainline in the 1980s when 34092 was nicknamed the "The Volcano". A nickname it got after working some well remembered spectacular high speed mainline trips over the Settle and Carlisle Railway and hauling the Scarborough Spa Express.
Posted: May 4, 2018 @ 12:05:26 by Russell Newman
No. 34092 "City of Wells" has been added to the line up of visiting locomotives to take part in the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway s 8 week 50th anniversary gala from June 24th to July 1st 2018. The Bulleid Light Pacific was restored there in the 1980s and this will be its last visit there under its current owners who life long and KWVR founding Members before the locomotive is sold to the East Lancashire Railway. When sold to the East Lancashire Railway 34092 will still visit other preserved railways around the UK more.
Posted: Nov 1, 2017 @ 18:11:46 by Russell Newman
Sorry it should have said that 34092 "City of Wells" owners have decided to put the locomotive up for sale and it could be staying at the East Lancashire Railway as part of there steam fleet there for good. The East Lancashire has offered a permeant home for the locomotive as they have just launched "A Home for Wells" Appeal to raise the funds necessary to provide a loving home for 34092. So the current location should now say East Lancashire Railway please.
Posted: Nov 1, 2017 @ 13:11:00 by Russell Newman
News has come that 34092 "City of Wells" will now be staying at the East Lancashire Railway as part of there steam fleet there for good. The East Lancashire has offered a permeant home for the locomotive as they have just launched "A Home for Wells" Appeal to raise the funds necessary to provide a loving home for 34092. So the current location should now say East Lancashire Railway please.
Posted: Oct 5, 2017 @ 06:10:59 by Russell Newman
34092 "City of Well" is currently based at the East Lancashire Railway as it has more work there and its ideally suited then the Worth Valley line. It could return to Keighley but for now its staying at the East Lancashire Railway as its well liked there.
Posted: Feb 1, 2017 @ 13:02:20 by Russell Newman
34092 City of Wells will be staying a bit longer down south as after its visit to the Swanage Railway it will be making a visit to the Bluebell Railway in July for there own 50th anniversary of the end of Southern steam.
Posted: Jan 7, 2017 @ 18:01:18 by Russell Newman
As part of the 50th Anniversary of the final operation of steam hauled services on British Raiways Southern Region this year. 34092 City of Wells will be heading south of the UK for the first time since 1988 to visit the Swanage Railway for there Strictly Bulleid Spring Steam Gala at the begining of April.
Posted: Dec 5, 2015 @ 15:12:33 by Russell Newman
Sorry I ment to say it was staying at the East Lancashire Railway till the end of 2016 or it could stay longer?
Posted: Dec 4, 2015 @ 16:12:32 by Russell Newman
34092 "City of Wells" is currently at the East Lancashire Railway where it will now be staying till the of 2016.
Posted: May 8, 2003 @ 10:05:08 by Steve Frost
I forgot to mention the wheels in the earlier note. They are BFB wheels (Bulleid-Firth-Brown) and are cast steel looking a little like Boxpop wheels - quite a distinctive feature of these locos.
Posted: May 7, 2003 @ 10:05:43 by Steve Frost
Oliver Bulleid's amazing 3 cylinder pacifics burst onto the scene in the middle of the second World War. They had a variety of different features, the most interesting of which is the valve gear, where 3 sets of Walschaerts gear is between the frames. But it is a miniaturised version, driven by chain from the driving axle, and enclosed in an oil bath, with the idea of reducing maintainance. The cylinders featured outside admission valves. The wide firebox boiler featured thermic syphons in the firebox, which was welded, rather than rivetted.

And then there was the appearance: they are described as 'air smoothed' (not streamlined), and this aimed to improve cleaning as they were supposed to be able to pass through carriage washing plant to keep them clean. They were powerful, but heavy on coal, and the oil leaked, too. There were even instances of them catching fire because of oil leaks. There were two classes, the larger 'Merchant Navy' class, named after shipping lines (like the sectioned 'Ellerman Lines' in the National Railway Museum), and the smaller 'light pacifics' named after places in South West England - the 'West Country' class of which 'City of Wells is an example. Further construction produced the 'Battle of Britain' class, named after squadrons, airfields etc connected with the 1940 Battle of Britain, eg 'Tangmere' is named after an air base.

'City of Wells' is in original condition, but in the 1950's, British Railways started to rebuild the Bulleid pacifics with conventional valve gear, and also removing the air smoothed casings to produce a more normal looking, and handsome engine. Still kept the outside admission cylinders, though! The album photo shows the loco at Scarborough station on the return Scarborough Spa Express about to depart for York. You can hardly see it for smoke as it simmers in the platform. Scarborough seems to keep the smoke penned in like this on calm days.