Class 15 group launches bogie appeal
THE Class 15 Preservation Society is appealing for funds to complete the overhaul of the bogies of No. D8233, having already spent more than 500 man hours and £2000 on their repair.
Amember of the society has offered to match any donations made to the appeal before June 30, up to a total value of £15,000. With gift aid, this could be worth up to £37,500.
No. D8233 has been standing on accommodation bogies since February 2019. The bogie frames have since been stripped and then shotblasted to remove paint and rust, thanks to the Standard 4 Group. The brake rigging that was removed has also been worked on.
Work still needed to be carried out involves major expenditure and includes: axle journal restoration and tyre turning; remanufacture of the traction motor linkages; overhaul of the traction motors; manufacture of new gearing; replacing the bogie’s air pipework; and painting the superstructure. In addition, a crane and set of loco jacks will need to be hired when No. D8233 is reunited with its bogies.
UNIQUE SURVIVOR
The sole-surviving Class 15 has not operated under its own power for more than 50 years, having been withdrawn from normal traffic in February 1969 and converted to a static train heating unit (No. ADB968001) later that year.
It continued to be used for this purpose until the early 1980s, after which it entered preservation in
1984, initially at the South Yorkshire Railway. After an initial spell at the
East Lancashire Railway, it moved to Mangapps Farm and then Crewe Heritage Centre before returning to Bury in 2006, where restoration began in earnest. The power unit was restarted in 2010 and was fired up at the ELR diesel gala in 2013.
For more information on how to donate, visit www.d8233.org.uk.
E