We are a group of approximately 400 members and are the proud custodians of three ex GWR locomotives: Manor class 7802 Bradley Manor and 7812 Erlestoke Manor, along with 5101 class Large Prairie 5164. The Erlestoke Manor Fund originated in 1973 when four young gentlemen in the shape of John Hancock, Bob Marrows, Dave Martin & Bruce Chennell making a reservation for what professional boilersmiths
considered to be the best of the 6 Manors that were at Dai Woodham's scrap yard in Barry. Frantic fundraising lead to the asking price from BR of £4000 + 10% tax to be achieved in the June, just days before a 50% price rise.
7812, 'Erlestoke' was the first to enter service on the Severn Valley Railway in September 1979 and ran through to 1985. In that time several mainline trips had been undertaken.
7802, 'Bradley' was purchased in 1979 from Dai Woodham's scrap yard as a source of spares for sister locomotive 7812. 'Bradley' first steamed in preservation in 1993 and ran through to 2000 when it was stopped for overhaul where it received the boiler from 7812. 7802 entered back into traffic in May 2002 and put up some sterling performances both on preserved metals and the national network where it achieved over 110 000 miles before being withdrawn from traffic at the end of 2010. Since then, both 7802 and 7812 have had further successful periods in traffic with 7812 running in service from 2008 until 2017 when it was withdrawn from overhaul, and 7802 running in service from 2015 until 2019 when a major piston failure led to its withdrawal from traffic. Both Manors currently reside at Tyseley Locomotive Works, where 7812 is currently at an advanced stage of a major mechanical and boiler overhaul, and is 7802 awaiting fitting of replacement pistons and cylinder blocks which have been manufactured and delivered. We are looking forward to seeing 7812 re-enter traffic in 2022 with 7802 following not to far behind it! Following dialogue the the 5164 Preservation Group and SVR, ownership of Large Prairie 5164 transferred to The Erlestoke Manor Fund in November 2021, in order to secure the locomotive’s long-term future within a charitable organisation. In December 2021, EMF shareholders voted in favour to bring 5164 into the EMF fleet as an equal partner with 7802 and 7812, and to commence fundraising and planning for an overhaul and eventual return to steam on the SVR.
