with virgin trains operator of the intercity west coast franchise since 1997 . west coast railways industry locomotive spot hire charter train operations predecessor steamtown carnforth founded june 1998 headquarters carnforth england key people david smith majority owner patricia marshall managing director website www.westcoastrailways.co.uk west coast railways wcr 1 is a railway spot hire company and charter train operator based at carnforth mpd in lancashire . using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the steamtown carnforth visitor attraction in june 1998 the company became the first privately owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company . on 17 february 2016 the office of rail and road orr issued a prohibition notice to wcr relating to concerns about its management of safety . under the terms of the notice the company was not able to operate trains on the mainline network until the orr were satisfied that its governance and operations met industry practice . the orr have lifted the prohibition notice with serious considerations about the future of the company but have made sure that none of the previous areas will or can occur again and that wcr follow all the relevant safety procedures during their tour operations . contents 1 history 1.1 before 1998 2 operations 2.1 march 2015 spad and operating license suspension 2.2 november 2015 2.3 february 2016 prohibition notice 3 services 4 train operating company 5 routes 6 depots 7 rolling stock 8 fleet details 8.1 steam locomotives 8.2 diesel locomotives 8.3 preserved locomotives 9 see also 10 references 11 sources 12 external links history edit 57601 passing brockhampton in april 2005 before 1998 edit main article carnforth mpd after british rail closed the lakeside branch to passengers on 6 september 1965 2 a group of enthusiasts chaired by dr peter beet formed the lakeside railway estates company with the idea of preserving both the line and carnforth mpd to provide a complete steam operating system . 3 after agreeing to rent out part of the carnforth mpd site but with the counter the development of the a590 road meaning that the complete vision was unsuccessful beet developed the visitor attraction steamtown carnforth which became a mecca for steam enthusiasts from 1967 . 4 in 1974 sir bill mcalpine became a shareholder in the company 3 allowing his lner a3 pacific no. 4472 flying scotsman to make carnforth its home . 5 mcalpine subsequently acquired a controlling interest in the company in order to fund the purchase of the complete site including the track from british rail . 6 in light of mcalpine s declining interest in 1990 his controlling interest in steamtown railway museum ltd was sold to david smith who over the following years has bought out most of the minority shareholders . with increasing health & safety executive regulations and an increased reliance on revenue from supplying and servicing steam locomotives to power enthusiast trains the commercial decision was taken not to reopen carnforth as a museum or visitor attraction for the 1998 season . steamtown railway museum ltd still exists today as the holding company and operates an extensive railway repair and operating facility on the site . in june 1998 west coast railway company was granted an operating licence to become a train operating company . 3 7 operations edit wcr today is a spot hire company which provides locomotives stock and crews to other companies within the rail industry . the company operates charter trains throughout the year many of which are hauled by steam locomotives and has grown to become the uk s leading special trains operator . the company now provides most of the stock and crews for steam workings on the national network plus a large amount for diesel tours as well . the headquarters engineering base and depot are at carnforth where locomotives and stock are stored and maintained and where contract work is undertaken for other operators . wcr are noted for their ownership and operation of steam locomotive 5972 olton hall under the guise of hogwarts castle for the harry potter film series with the hogwarts express train being featured in each of the films . march 2015 spad and operating license suspension edit main article 2015 wootton bassett spad incident on 7 march 2015 the 16 35 return up east bound cathedrals express 1z67 operated by wcr bristol temple meads to southend east approaching from chippenham headed by battle of britain class no. 34067 tangmere and 13 coaches passed signal sn45 at danger at wootton bassett junction on the great western main line overrunning the signal by 700 yards 640 m . 8 9 10 the incident occurred around one minute after the up east bound first great western service 1l76 the 15 28 swansea to london paddington passenger service approaching via the south wales main line from badminton gloucestershire and operated by an intercity 125 set had cleared the junction at 100 miles per hour 160 km h . 8 9 10 11 the signal was being maintained at danger to ensure the safety of train 1l76 after it had passed through the junction as is signalling practice . 9 11 the incident was investigated by track owner network rail nr the office of rail regulation and the rail accident investigation branch raib . the raib launched an investigation into the incident on 27 march releasing a statement in which they described the incident as a dangerous occurrence . 9 according to the raib the spad was caused by driver error after the driver isolated the automatic warning system aws and train protection & warning system tpws on approach to a temporary speed restriction in the area of line immediately after signal sn43 the signal before signal sn45 . 9 these were not reinstated on approach to signal sn45 ; 9 as a result the train was not automatically stopped by the safety systems as it passed the signal at danger . 9 700 yards 640 m down the line the train was manually brought to a stop by the driver ; it came to a rest across wootton bassett junction . 9 following an initial response by wcr to nr over the incident nr expressed concern at the wcr demonstrated controls communication and commitment considering them inadequate . 10 following a further meeting on 30 march 2015 between both parties in an unprecedented reaction nr suspended wcr s operator s licence effective from midnight 3 april 2015 . 8 10 previously operators have been banned from certain routes but this was the first total network ban since privatisation . 10 the suspension notice states 8 network rail has had concerns about wcr s performance of its safety obligations for some time and recent events lead network rail to believe that the operations of wcr are a threat to the safe operation of the railway . if five of the seven required remedies are completed by may 15 with demonstrable progress towards completion of the other two the suspension notice will be withdrawn . the required steps include introducing a risk based driver monitoring regime and demonstrating that there is an effective and secure system of tamper evident seals for train protection isolator cocks on all relevant traction . wcr stated that it was in negotiations with nr regarding the terms of the suspension and also with other train operating companies in order to prevent the cancellation of many scheduled wcr operated railtours during the period of suspension . 12 on 8 may 2015 network rail lifted the track access ban off the company . 13 this meant that the company could continue its scheduled tours for the coming months including the first of the jacobite railtours . 14 15 network rail has confirmed that it reinstated west coast railway company s track access agreement as of 00 01 this morning five weeks after suspending the organisation over safety concerns . in a letter to west coast railway company paul mcmahon director for freight at network rail said that the company welcomed the commitment wcr has made to improving safety through changes to the safety management system sms and the appointing of a new director general manager head of safety and non executive director . the new interim head of safety alex mcgregor from lloyds register and a non executive director are being appointed before services recommence . on 9 december 2015 the office of rail and road announced that the wcr and the driver of the train involved in the incident at wootton bassett were to be prosecuted for offences contrary to the health and safety at work act 1974 . an initial hearing was scheduled at swindon magistrates court for 11 january 2016 . 16 the case came to trial at swindon crown court on 27 june 2016 . wcr and driver melvyn cox both pleaded guilty . wcr was fined 200 000 and 64 000 costs . cox was given a four month prison sentence suspended for eighteen months . he was also ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work . 17 18 november 2015 edit on 24 november 2015 it was reported that the office of rail and road orr had temporarily prohibited wcr from operating steam trains on the mainline rail network following an initial investigation into an incident near doncaster on 2 october 2015 when 45231 the sherwood forester was hauling a wcr spirit of the lakes charter train and the footplate crew of the engine had isolated the train protection & warning system tpws equipment which would have applied the emergency brake if the driver made a safety critical error . 19 february 2016 prohibition notice edit on 17 february 2016 the office of rail and road issued a prohibition notice to wcr preventing it running its heritage rail services on the mainline railway . the notice relates to concerns about wcr s management of safety following a number of incidents over the past year . under the terms of the notice the company will not be able to operate trains on the mainline network until the orr are satisfied its governance and operations meet industry practice . steps the company must take include the introduction of clearer governance structures with proper accountability for safety ; more robust risk assessments ; and enhanced processes for managing staff with a focus on safety culture . 20 ian prosser hm chief inspector of railways at orr said the decision to revoke the company s safety certificate had not been taken lightly . 21 on 23 march 2016 the track access ban was lifted . 22 services edit 45231 the sherwood forester at fort william after hauling the jacobite from mallaig this is a regular service run by west coast railways from early may till late october . 46115 working one of wcr s regular trains from york to scarborough wcr operates several regular steam hauled excursions every summer . the most famous of these trains is the jacobite named for the historic jacobite political movement . it runs along the west highland line from fort william to mallaig crossing glenfinnan viaduct . it runs monday to fridays from the middle of may until the end of october and also runs at weekends from the end of june until the end of august . in 2011 wcr added a second jacobite service leaving fort william in the afternoons from the start of june until the end of august running on wednesdays thursdays and fridays . 2012 saw this second service increase to five days a week between june and august . in july 2002 wcr began to operate the steam hauled scarborough spa express operated from york to scarborough three times a week between july and september . 23 after a steam ban on the eastern region in 2014 which resulted in the season being axed a restricted season ran for 2015 over three days in october . this will once again be