GWR 5600 class 0-6-2T 5643
Swanwick Junction, 1 May 2010
15 years ago today Great Western Railway (GWR) 5600 class 0-6-2T 5643 (b.1925, Swindon) was on hire to the Midland Railway-Butterley (from the Ribble Steam Railway if memory serves…) and is seen here taking on water at Swanwick Junction between workings.
Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Ltd 0-6-0DHF Tommy (works no.246V of 1973)
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, 27 February 2010
Photographed on a murky Saturday afternoon 15 years ago were this pair of Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Ltd 0-6-0DMF locomotives at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) in Derbyshire.
Both locomotives were supplied new to BP’s Llandarcy Refinery in South Wales and arrived at the EVR in February 2009.
No.246V has since been rebuilt by LH Group/Hunslet Engine Co Ltd (as works no.9377) and is currently to be found at Trostre Steelworks in Carmarthenshire.
Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Ltd 0-6-0DHF Hydra (works no.194V of 1968)
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, 27 February 2010
No.194V was also sold to LH Group/Hunslet Engine Co Ltd but ended up being scrapped in June 2017 at EMR, Kingsbury.
My (so far, only) visit to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway has featured here before but this vehicle is something I’d pretty much forgotten about.
19001
Bo’ness, 2 November 2018
Previously used on West Coast Main Line (WCML) services this Mk.3b Driving Van Trailer, number 82113, was being used by Artemis Intelligent Power to test the viability of using hydrostatic transmission to reduce engine emissions and had been fitted with two JCB diesel engines and…
19001
Bo’ness, 2 November 2018
A second driving cab.
Following conversion 82113 was renumbered as a diesel locomotive and allocated the TOPS number 19001. Since my visit it’s changed hands and is being/has been used to carry out magnetic wheel adhesion testing by Lenz Labs of Edinburgh.
Class 25/3 D7659 (25309)
Rowsley South, Peak Rail, 7 April 2023
D7659 was the final Class 25 locomotive built by Beyer, Peacock & Co Ltd (in 1966) and had a fairly uneventful pre-preservation career.
Renumbered 25309 under British Rail’s TOPS system in April 1974 and again (to 25909) in December 1985, withdrawal beckoned in September 1986. After asbestos removal the locomotive left Vic Berry’s scrapyard in Leicester on 2 June 1988 for display at Coalville Open Day on 4 June before moving into preservation at the East Lancashire Railway (ELR).
Now owned by pop impresario Pete Waterman, D7659 is based at Peak Rail in Derbyshire and today hauled three return trips between Rowsley South and Matlock, the above pic is of the 13.00 departure from Rowsley South.
Is it really over four months since I posted anything here? 😬
Clearly, one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2023 must be to post more often!
Class 101 DMBS 50164 Daisy
Midland Railway-Butterley, 1 January 2010
These two class 101 diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles formed set no.101685 and were amongst the last five class 101 sets to be withdrawn from service by First North Western in December 2003.
Built by Metro-Cammell in 1956, 101685 had regained its early British Railways livery in 1994 and was named Daisy (unofficially) after the diesel railcar in The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Class 101 DMCL 53160 Daisy
Midland Railway-Butterley, 1 January 2010
Both vehicles are now preserved at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
D6700 (37119, 35350)
Loughborough Central (GCR), 21 August 2022
Having arrived with train 2B25, the 14.45 departure from Leicester North
I spent an enjoyable hour at Loughborough Central station on the Great Central Railway yesterday, mainly because I wanted to photograph the first built Class 37 (or English Electric type 3) diesel locomotive, D6700, which is currently on loan from the National Railway Museum in York.
Built by the English Electric Co Ltd at Vulcan Foundry, D6700 entered service in December 1960 and was first allocated to Stratford Depot (30A) in East London.
Renumbering under the TOPS scheme (to 37119) followed in February 1974 and again (to 37350) in March 1988 (when it was fitted with regeared cast frame type CP7 bogies).
Repainted back into green livery in August 1988 ‘D6700’ became something of a celebrity and appeared at many open days before acquiring the name NRM NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM in November 1998.
Withdrawal followed in December 1999 and D6700 was claimed for preservation by the NRM.
I recently read that Great Western Railway (GWR) 4900 ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL had been bought by Warner Brothers and exported to Japan for display in the Harry Potter exhibit at Warner Bros Studios Tour in Tokyo.
GWR 4900 class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL
South Devon Railway, 7 August 2013
Built at the Great Western Railway’s Swindon Works in 1929, 4920 was withdrawn from Bristol Barrow Road shed by British Railways in December 1965 and sent for scrap. Preservation beckoned in June 1976 and 4920 became the 82nd departure from Barry scrapyard, finally returning to steam in 1992 on the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway (now known as the Dartmouth Steam Railway).
The locomotive’s owners subsequently purchased the Dart Valley Railway (now known as the South Devon Railway) and 4920 was loaned to various heritage lines before returning to the Dartmouth Steam Railway where it was last steamed in October 1999 before moving to Buckfastleigh on the SDR for storage.
Above is the only pic I have (and now likely will ever have) of 4920, taken during a flying visit to the SDR in August 2013.
A small selection of photos taken during my only visit (so far) to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway (B&KR) back in 2018.
27001
Bo’ness, 2 November 2018
27001 (the former D5347) was first allocated to Thornton Junction shed (62A) in June 1961 but was almost immediately reallocated to Glasgow Eastfield (65A, later ED), spending the rest of its working life allocated to either Eastfield or Edinburgh Haymarket sheds (64B, later HA).
I don’t think I ever saw a ‘McRat’ (as the class 27s were known) in BR days but would have loved to have seen them on their regular stomping ground of the West Highland Line.
Caledonian Railway 439 class 0-4-4T No.419
Bo’ness, 2 November 2018
No.419 was built at the Caledonian Railway’s St. Rollox Works in 1907 and remained in service (first with the London Midland & Scottish Railway, then British Railways) until December 1962 when it was withdrawn from Carstairs shed (66E).
The beautifully restored flagship of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) fleet had spent nine years undergoing overhaul and had only returned to traffic the month prior to my visit.
Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co Ltd 16in 0-4-0ST No.6 (works no.2043 of 1937)
Bo’ness, 2 November 2018
You can’t have a collection of Scottish locomotives without a ‘Wee Pug’ and this Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co Ltd 0-4-0ST (works no.2043 of 1937) fits the bill perfectly!
Built for United Collieries Ltd (as their No.4) it worked at various locations before ending up at Kinneil Colliery in the late 1970s from where it entered preservation, initially at the Prestongrange Mining Museum. Owned by East Lothian Council it is currently awaiting overhaul.
Last week I spent a couple of days chugging along the Grand Union Canal on a narrow boat, setting off from North Kilworth Marina in Leicestershire. Whilst looking at our route on the Ordnance Survey map I noticed a dismantled railway line immediately west of the marina and naturally (for me anyway) I did a little research and discovered there had been a station nearby…
Welford and Kilworth platform shelter
Electric Railway Museum, 25 May 2013
Welford and Kilworth station, on the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) line from Rugby to Stamford, opened on 1 May 1950 and had an uneventful existence until closure on 6 June 1966 and although the main station buildings were demolished, the down (Stamford-bound) platform shelter (dating from 1878) survived and ended up on display at the Electric Railway Museum at Coventry (where the above photo was taken during an open day in 2013.)
Sadly the museum was forced to close in 2017 but most, if not all the exhibits were found new homes and I believe the shelter ended up at the Battlefield Line.
Nine years ago I visited the Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) at Ruddington and was intrigued by a couple of strange railway vehicles…
Laboratory 1, RDB 975000
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012
RDB 975000 (Laboratory 1) was converted from a British Railways Mk.1 Restaurant Second Open (RSO) in 1970 by the Research & Development Department at the Railway Technical Centre (RTC) at Derby for use as a high speed dynamics laboratory.
The lowered section of roof could be fitted with a pantograph (used to collect power from overhead lines) which could then be observed in operation through the windows in the roof visible in the image below.
Laboratory 1, RDB 975000
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012
After lying out of use at Derby for many years RDB 975000 entered preservation at Ruddington in May 2011 but was scrapped in November 2013.
Observation Saloon 6300 HEBRIDEAN
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012
6300 HEBRIDEAN was built as Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory (DTCL) 56356 in 1958 but converted in 1987 for use as a locomotive-hauled observation saloon on the Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh ‘Hebridean’ services.
Withdrawn in 1994, 6300 was initially preserved at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway before moving to Ruddington but has since moved again, to the Barry Tourist Railway.
Railway Miscellany 