If you have an interest in Stratford Class 47’s & would like to help keeping a Stratford 47 on the rails please read on.

The Class 47 locomotives, or Brush Type Fours as they were commonly known, have played an important part in the history of Britain’s railways. In particular the locomotives allocated to Stratford depot in East London were noted for their reliable performance and smart appearance. Once Stratford started applying their own individuality to the rail blue livery, the famous silver roofs and red bufferbeams etc, their Class 47’s captured the imagination of both enthusiasts and railwaymen alike.

In February 2001 the Stratford 47 Group was set-up by a number of enthusiasts in order to raise funds to save at least one machine previously allocated to Stratford depot. Since then we have rapidly gained momentum ,becoming a Limited Liability Company successfully tendering for two different locomotives 47367 and 47596 Aldeburgh Festival. In 2007 the opportunity to tender for 47580 County of Essex arouse and with a successfully purchase from EMR became the 3 loco.

47367, allocated to Stratford in the late-1980’s is based at the Mid-Norfolk Railway, where restoration has rapidly gathered place The locomotive ran on January 4th 2004, for the first time since withdrawal back in 2001. Along with restoration of vacuum-braking equipment it has an external body work and repaint into BR Rail Blue livery.

47580, a pedigree Stratford locomotive with an appropriate East-Anglian name is currently Main Line registered. 47580 is painted in Large Logo Stratford Style Livery.

47580, a pedigree Stratford locomotive with an appropriate East-Anglian name is currently Main Line registered. 47580 is painted in Stratford Style BR Blue Livery with union jack.

47596, a pedigree Stratford locomotive with an appropriate East-Anglian name is currently at the Mid-Norfolk Railway carrying the trademark Network SouthEast livery with a light grey (silver) roof.

Shares are still available in Stratford Forty-Seven Limited and are available to anyone who shares the group’s aims. The shares are £50.00 each and can either be purchased outright, or in instalments by standing order. The purchase of a share entitles you to participate in the Group’s activities, and vote at the Annual General Meeting or any other voting issue referred to the membership .

We welcome new members – both those who are happy to be armchair enthusiasts helping to finance the costly restoration of these fine machines, and those who are keen to get your hands dirty, or have any specialist skills that may prove useful to the Group and assist with restoration at the Mid-Norfolk Railways. It is important that we continue to increase our incoming funds in order to purchase enough spares to guarantee the long-term future of our locomotives.

Help us keep part of East-Anglia’s history alive – Stratford’s Class 47’s. It is simple to fill in a share application form, giving you the chance to join our endeavour to keep the memory of these splendid machines well and truly alive.