A third Class 25 set to join HNRC’s main line fleet

Harry Needle Railroad Company Class 25s will be used for rail services duties and infrastructure hire contracts.

Managing Director Harry Needle told RAIL that he will look to add 25313 to the company’s main line fleet - joining 25057 and 25283, which have been bought from preservation in the past few months. The former is operational but needs repairs, while the latter is not a runner.

HNRC will return all three to main line standards, but this work will not be carried out at the company’s Barrow Hill base. Instead, it will use another facility that the company is in the process of acquiring. When that deal is concluded, the ‘25s’ will move there.

Needle has also not ruled out putting his own Class 27 on the main line with the fleet of ‘25s’, although he said he was undecided regarding the business case for 27066 becoming the first of its class to run under its own power on the national network since 1987.

He was also keen to point out that no ‘25’ will be made available for charter work, and that HNRC’s own locomotives are not available for such duties. When asked by RAIL why Class 20s owned by HNRC are hauling charters for GB Railfreight, he explained that they are considered part of the freight operator’s fleet and can be used for those duties. He said that HNRC would not directly supply locomotives for such trains.