Greatest Gathering

The Greatest Gathering
Company type	Event
Industry	Rail transport heritage
Founded	August 1, 2025; 15 months ago
Headquarters	Derby, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Owner	Alstom

The Greatest Gathering represented a showcase of railway vehicles hosted at Alstom's Derby Litchurch Lane Works from 1 to 3 August 2025.

This occasion celebrated the bicentennial of the creation of Locomotion No. 1 and the inaugural passenger train service on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Comparable landmark anniversaries had been observed with events arranged by British Rail in 1975, London and North Eastern Railway in 1925, and the North Eastern Railway in 1875.

Lord Peter Hendy, serving as Minister of State for Transport, referred to the exhibition as "the largest display of railway machinery ever held in the UK."

Exhibits

While initial expectations were for 30 to 50 trains and around 5,000 visitors, the event drew approximately 40,000 attendees and featured an extensive collection of over 140 railway vehicles spanning two centuries.

Steam Locomotives

Locomotion No. 1 – from the National Railway Museum
Furness Railway No. 20 (1863) – preserved by the Furness Railway Trust
GWR 4900 Class 4930 Hagley Hall – operated by the Severn Valley Railway, constructed in 1929
Midland Railway 1000 Compound (1902), designed by Samuel Waite Johnson – part of the National Railway Museum collection
BR Standard Class 5 no. 73129
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 no. 60163 Tornado (completed in 2008)
LNER Peppercorn Class A2 no. 60532 Blue Peter
LNER Class A3 no. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A4 no. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
LMS Jubilee Class no. 5699 Galatea, displayed in livery as 45627 Sierra Leone
LMS Princess Royal Class no. 6203 Princess Margaret Rose
SR Merchant Navy Class no. 35028 Clan Line

Diesel & Electric Locomotives

Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive No. 12 Sarah Siddons – from the London Transport Museum
Diesel locomotive no. D6700
HST power car no. 43004 Caerphilly Castle – operated by Great Western Railway
Two locomotives featuring special liveries
Locomotive no. 57003 Inter City Railway Society 50th Anniversary 1973–2023 – owned by Locomotive Services Limited
Class 57 no. 57307 Lady Penelope – operated by Direct Rail Services
Class 57 no. 57604 Pendennis Castle – part of the Great Western Railway (train operating company) fleet
Diesel locomotive no. 67005 King's Messenger – used for the British Royal Train
Units offering cab rides provided by the Rail Operations Group
Locomotive operated by GB Railfreight
Ruston & Hornsby diesel shunter no. 294266 Sir William McAlpine – maintained by Lawrie Rose

Multiple Units

Units running on an on-site railway test track
Spare Eurostar power car no. 3999 – owned by Eurostar International Limited
Unit no. 390119 named Progress – operated by Avanti West Coast, hauled by locomotive no. 57307 Lady Penelope
Tram-train unit from the South Wales Metro, hauled by power cars from RailAdventure's Class 43 fleet
Southern Electric Traction Group and Bluebell Railway's (4VEP) unit no. 423417 named Gordon Pettitt
Merseyrail unit no. 507001 currently under restoration by apprentices
The Greater Anglia Flyer unit – part of the Greater Anglia fleet
Hybrid train showcased as a backdrop during the opening ceremony – also from Greater Anglia
The hydrogen-powered HydroFLEX train developed by Porterbrook
Prototype model representing future rolling stock for High Speed 2

Additional Exhibits

Inspection saloon 975025 Caroline ‒ operated by Network Rail in partnership with Loram
Tram 207, named Mavis Worthington, a Bombardier Incentro AT6/5 model ‒ part of the Nottingham Express Transit fleet

Narrow Gauge Collection

Dedicated narrow gauge steam locomotives were accommodated on specially laid tracks, including:

Prince (1863), a Festiniog Railway 0-4-0TT locomotive ‒ from the Festiniog Railway
Trangkil No. 4 (1971), preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway
Katie (1896), Arthur Heywood’s design ‒ exhibited by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
Anne (2004), constructed by Exmoor Steam Railway for the Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, now part of the Perrygrove Railway

Model Railway Display

A detailed model layout of Milton Keynes Central railway station created by Pete Waterman

Flying Scotsman Appearance

In June 2025, Craig Bentley, director of the National Railway Museum, announced that the renowned Flying Scotsman would be a highlight at The Greatest Gathering—touted as "the world's largest assembly of historic and contemporary railway vehicles." Scheduled to be showcased at Derby Litchurch Lane Works for three days in August, the locomotive was set to be a central attraction. On 2 August, the Flying Scotsman briefly departed the works to haul the Belmond British Pullman luxury charter train between and . During this trip, water was provided by the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service at after a water tanker experienced mechanical issues.

Venue

In 2024, employees at Derby Litchurch Lane Works staged a protest amid fears about potential closure.

Ticketing Information

Starting January 2025, daily public ticket allocations of 10,000 were made available over three days, totaling 30,000 tickets. Prices were set at £65 for family tickets, £30 for adults, and £15 for children. Following an initial surge that overwhelmed the ticketing website, sales were temporarily suspended for a week.

Revenue generated was distributed among five charitable organizations: Alzheimer's Research UK, Railway Benefit Fund, Railway Children, Railway Mission, and the Transport Benevolent Fund.

All public tickets for the main event sold out rapidly. For those unable to secure admission, a complimentary fringe event was held at Derby Guildhall Market, coordinated by Derby City Council together with the Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership.

Event Schedule

The VIP opening ceremony took place on 31 July 2025, featuring Locomotion No. 1—the oldest exhibit—and Greater Anglia’s latest Class 720 trains as a backdrop. Entertainment included performances by The Grand Central Chorus. Notable speakers comprised Derby South MP Baggy Shanker, French Ambassador Hélène Duchêne, National Railway Museum Curator Andrew McLean, and Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge. Pete Waterman was also slated to deliver remarks.

Vintage buses operated shuttle services connecting Derby city centre, Derby railway station, and Derby Litchurch Lane Works throughout the event.

On 1 August 2025, BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine broadcast his afternoon show live from the venue with guest musician Bill Ryder-Jones. Michael Portillo was also present during the weekend festivities.