Main line Class 50 at risk of scrapping earns late reprieve
A main line-certified Class 50 was put up for sale, threatened with scrap after deals fell through, and then saved at the final minute - all in the space of seven days.
It was confirmed on February 1 that 50017 Royal Oak has been sold to the Great Central Railway, ending its main line career. The ‘50’ will be moved to the GCR from Nottingham in the near future, with its GSM-R equipment already removed and acquired by Paul Spracklen for 50026 Indomitable.
Boden Rail Engineering Ltd had offered 50017 Royal Oak for sale at the end of January, stating that the decision to sell one of the company’s ‘50s’ had been made in order to focus on the workshop, which maintains Colas locomotives - such as the return to traffic of 56049 Robin of Templecombe.
The Class 50 was operational, although it was known to be fitted with poor tyres. It was offered for sale with its safety systems, such as Train Protection Warning System and On-Train Monitoring Recorders, or without (in which case the price was lower).
There was the possibility that it could be used for component recovery to support both 50050 and 37240. The Class 37 was bought recently from preservation, and has been moved to BREL’s facility at Nottingham Eastcroft.
In a statement on Facebook, Neil Boden said that in order for the business to survive, the ‘50’ had to be sold with funds transferred by January 31.
That initial sale fell through, meaning that Royal Oak was due to be stripped of reusable components that would be sold on or used to keep 50050 Fearless operational.
BREL has hired both 50017 Royal Oak and 50050 Fearless to Colas Railfreight on a regular basis for various stock moves. The locomotives have also attended heritage railway diesel galas.
BREL bought Royal Oak from preservation - it had been based on the Plym Valley Railway. The ‘50’ was previously owned by David Cunningham, who had bought it from John F Kennedy.
The locomotive had been out of traffic for many years, including open storage at Tyseley Locomotive Works. BREL returned it to main line traffic as one of three Class 50s, along with 50007 Hercules and 50050 Fearless. The former has since been sold to the Class 50 Alliance and remains on the main line, while the latter (the first-built ‘50’) remains part of the BREL fleet.
There are 18 surviving Class 50s. Five are currently operational on the main line (50007/008/017/ 049/050), while a further six are operational on preserved lines (50015/031/033/035/042/044). The rest are being restored or undergoing repairs (50002/019/ 021/026/027/029/030).
Class 50s were withdrawn by British Rail from 1986 onwards, with the last three condemned at the end of March 1994.