LMS Jubilee Class 5596 Bahamas

5596 was constructed in 1934 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS). It was delivered by NBL on 26 December 1934, and entered traffic on 12 January 1935. It was a standard Jubilee Class locomotive, designed by William Stanier, the chief mechanical engineer of the LMS. In June 1936, 5596 received the name Bahamas after the islands in the Atlantic Ocean which were part of the British Empire. Following the nationalisation of Britain's railway companies in January 1948 Bahamas, which had become the property of British Railways, was renumbered to 45596, and transferred to Edge Hill, Liverpool. In May 1961, Bahamas was modified during a scheduled overhaul to participate in a trial being conducted with the aim of improving the performance and extending the service life of steam locomotives. Following its withdrawal, the locomotive was stored while officials deliberated on the best means to dispose of it. For some time, it lingered on the scrap line while the manner of its disposal was considered. Keen to save Bahamas, several members of the public came together to attempt to purchase it with the hope of using the locomotive to operate special excursion trains. British Rail showed a lack of enthusiasm when it was approached by the preservation society as the group encountered great difficulty in raising the funds. In early 1967, British Rail had agreed the sale of Bahamas to a scrap merchant in Hull. The society acquired enough money, largely due to the offer of a sympathetic businessman of a £3,000 loan to cover the purchase and high-level intervention within British Rail resulted in the sale to the Bahamas Locomotive Society. == Allocations ==

The shed locations of 45596 on particular dates. ==Bahamas Locomotive Society==

In 1967, Bahamas was purchased from British Railways for preservation by the Bahamas Locomotive Society. In Sept 2022 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War in 1982, 45596 had a temporary change in identity to become scrapped classmate 45606 Falkland Islands. Following the expiry of it's mainline certificate in September 2025, Bahamas was withdrawn from traffic in October 2025 for an overhaul. To permit 45596 to operate with both air and vacuum stock, the locomotive is being fitted with air brakes during the overhaul. Return to steam in the 21st century In January 2011, an appeal, "Steam's Last Blast", was launched to raise funds for another overhaul to modern main line standards. Sufficient funds were raised from supporters and with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £775,800. The engine made its first moves and appearance at the Tyseley at 50 open weekend in Sept 2018 and once work completed in January 2019 alongside its light and loaded test runs the locomotive returned to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in February prior to mainline operations starting the same month. 45596 worked "The Bahamas Renaissance" its first railtour for 25 years on 9 February 2019, the tour originated at Oxenhope on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and ran both ways over the Settle and Carlisle line via Ribblehead and Appleby to Carlisle. Owing to popularity with the first tour being a complete sell-out. A second trip was run the weekend after, this being over the same route and the same itinerary. This tour also became a complete sell-out. ==References==