Cab used for training purposes taken to new home
On November 1/2, the remaining cab section from 47738 was moved from its home of 14 years to begin a new life in Wales.
Railway Support Services removed the locomotive’s remains from the Rail Incident Support Centre (RISC) building adjacent to Plymouth station.
The RISC had been converted from the old Royal Mail docking station, and inside were different rail-themed scenarios used for training staff using real-life situations. One of these was the provision of a railway track with a ‘train’, to allow for emergency response training to someone hit by a train.
In 2003, 47738’s cab section (prepared by EWS at Wigan CRDC) and a complete Class 47 bogie were positioned on a short section of railway track around which a false tunnel was built, thus providing a real-life, full-sized scenario. The set-up was also used as part of a safety initiative aimed at local schoolchildren.
In more recent times, the locomotive had been used by trainees for practising using emergency locomotive-to-High Speed Train couplings without the need to use a complete HST set at nearby Laira depot.
Railway Support Services has taken the cab section to its premises in the West Midlands, where the body will be lifted from the bogie and the two parts heading separate ways.
The cab section is heading to The Cab Yard in Bridgend, while the bogie is heading to Raxstar in Eastleigh.
The ‘47’ was stored in early 2001 by EWS, and was largely scrapped that year. The RISC is set to be demolished.