The Class Forty Preservation Society is a non-profit making organisation with charitable status dedicated to preserving and operating working examples of English Electric Type 4 (British Rail Class 40) locomotives for the general public, and to promote their interest and history, being part of our nation's industrial and railway heritage. Registered charity number is 326323.
In late 1979, with the growing recession and a downturn in freight traffic, a group of enthusiasts decided to try and preserve a Class 40, and the CFPS was formed. The inaugural CFPS meeting took place in February 1980. As plans for the second phase of withdrawals were rumoured, word spread quickly, and Class 40 followers throughout the UK came together, aiming to save at least one working example of these fine and well respected locomotives from the cutter's torch.
A total of seven Class 40's were saved from the scrap lines, of which the Society now owns three.