An annual Armistice Day steam special has marked the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War.
The 45606 Falkland Islands hauled The Railway Touring Company’s ‘The Kentish Belle’ from London Victoria to Margate today (November 11). The train departed from London mid-morning for a nostalgic steam journey through Kent to Margate.
The Kentish Belle Armistice Day’ steam train, organised by The Railway Touring Company, was hauled by historic Jubilee class locomotive 45996 Bahamas, temporarily re-named 45606 ‘Falkland Islands’ in tribute to those who took part in the conflict.
45996 Bahamas is a sister loco to the original steam loco 45606 Falkland Islands. Owners the Bahamas Locomotive Society gave permission for the loco to be re-plated in 2022 as a mark of respect to the fallen from all sides in the Falklands conflict, which took place in the South Atlantic in 1982.
The original 45606 Falkland Islands locomotive was built in 1935, but withdrawn from service in 1964 and eventually scrapped.
The locomotive was temporarily renamed and renumbered in a ceremony in September at Swanage Station in Dorset.