World-renowned wildlife artist and conservationist David Shepherd - and owner of heavy freight steam locomotive 'Black Prince' - visits the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR) hot on the heels of his visit to nearby Nature in Art on Sunday 1st June, to celebrate 40 years of ownership of his 140-ton 'baby'.

Black Prince - for the technically-minded a British Railways 9F class 2-10-0 no. 92203 - was purchased by David following a successful exhibition in New York. He took delivery of it in 1968, the same year that the national railway network finally finished with steam. He then rode on the engine as it made its way under its own steam from Crewe to the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire, then an oasis for surviving steam locomotives.  Shortly afterwards he named it 'Black Prince'.

Black Prince is now based at the GWR, which runs 10 miles through glorious Cotswold scenery between Cheltenham Racecourse, Winchcombe and Toddington.

During the GWR's Cotswold Festival of Steam, which started on 24th May and finishes on 1st June, the big, black locomotive has been running as it appeared in 1968. In those days, freight engines were rarely cleaned and no. 92203 has been running in typical grubby appearance. Someone at Crewe thought to paint some of the embellishments on the engine's front in white for its journey into David's ownership, and the GWR has done the same just for this occasion.

But on 1st June, at 11.45, the engine will be specially cleaned up and David Shepherd will ceremoniously fit the nameplates of the locomotive at Winchcombe Station.

"The engine has stirred many memories for people seeing it in this condition," commented the GWR's Ian Crowder. "David Shepherd himself said that it took him straight back to that moment 40 years ago when he was handed the locomotive at Crew."

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight fly in

1st June will have particular resonance for David, when the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster bomber and Spitfire and Hurricane fighters also fly over the railway at about 3pm. David takes up the story:

"Sunday, 1st June promises to be a highly emotional day for me. First of all, my 140 ton steam locomotive, Black Prince, will be in steam on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Furthermore, the Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane, of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, will be flying over the railway at 3pm, and the combination of the Lancaster and Black Prince will be almost too much for me to bear!

"In the late 1950s, the Royal Air Force, with whom I have never served, used to fly me all around the world gathering material for commissioned paintings of aviation subjects with which I started my career. They flew me to Nairobi in 1960 and it was there that they commissioned my very first wildlife painting, which changed my life and from which I have never looked back. So I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the RAF."

This was repaid in some measure in 1978 when David was asked to raise money for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. This involved doing a painting, Winter of '43, Somewhere in England, and producing 850 copies of the print, signed and numbered and it raised some £96,000.

David continues: "Through this exciting and successful project I got to know the personnel of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It was last year, when they celebrated their 50th anniversary, that I donated a painting which was auctioned and raised a very worthwhile sum for them and they then came down to Toddington at my invitation to enjoy the delights of riding on the footplate of Black Prince.

"So the link was forged and as a result, they accepted my invitation to fly over the GWR when Black Prince would be in steam. So that is the background to the event on Sunday 1st June."

Full information about fares and the Festival on www.gwsr.com or telephone 01242 621 405.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Cotswold Festival of Steam concludes over the weekend of 31st May and 1st June.  Eight locomotives have been in steam over the celebration of the

• 40th anniversary of the end of steam;
• 60th anniversary of the creation of British Railways on nationalisation and
• 100 years since through expresses started using the route between Stratford and Cheltenham, over part of which the GWR runs today.
• It also marks 40 years since David Shepherd took delivery of 'Black Prince'.

Black Prince is a 9F class freight locomotive weighing 140 tons. It was built in 1959 at Swindon Works, one of the last steam engines to be manufactured for British  Railways (it is identical to the last steam engine to be built, Evening Star, which is now at the National Railway Museum). It served for just eight years before being withdrawn to be scrapped like thousands of other steam locomotives in the 1960s - but was purchased by David Shepherd and moved to Hampshire in 1968.  After various homes, the engine moved to the GWR 10 years ago where it is now resident.

Media contact: Ian Crowder, 07775 566 555 or ian.crowder@gwsr.com