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 North-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 will need a repaint into the now extinct Railfreight Red-Stripe Grey livery in the near future.

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

47580, a pedigree Stratford locomotive with an appropriate East-Anglian name is currently being prepared at Tyseley Birmingham Railway Museum, where we are kindly allowed to keep the locomotive while body repairs take place. 47580 is to be painted into Large Logo Stratford Style.

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 would rather assist with restoration at the North-Norfolk Railway and 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.