Class 47 goes on loan to NYMR as Hymeks celebrate 60th birthdays

CELEBRITY Western Region Class 47 No. 47077 North Star has moved from the West Somerset Railway for a loan period at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

The Brush Type 4, part of the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group’s collection at Williton, departed from Bishops Lydeard by road on January 13.

The loan period is for two years but may be adjusted as the movement was delayed for six months while clearance was obtained from Highways England. Acquired by the DEPG in 2007, the locomotive recently returned to service following bodywork repairs and a repaint in BR blue, but it is currently unable to operate on the WSR as it exceeds the line’s present axle-loading limit.

Meanwhile, the group’s two WR Hymek diesel-hydraulics, D7017 and D7018, celebrated their 60th birthdays in January, having been turned out by Beyer Peacock on January 8 and January 18, 1962, respectively. A small ceremony to mark the occasion was held at Williton diesel depot on January 8, with DEPG chairman Martin Howard cutting a birthday cake.

MARTIN HOWARD ‘DEPG on tour’… the banner says it all as the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group’s Class 47 No. 47077 North Star leaves Bishops Lydeard for a loan spell at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

CHRIS LAWTON DEPG chairman Martin Howard (left), with publicity officer Mark Bladwell, about to cut the birthday cake to celebrate the 60th birthday of Hymek D7017 on January 8.