NEWS ROUND-UP
HARRY NEEDLE RAILROAD COMPANY
HNRC No. 01545 4wDH (TH 277v/1977) was moved from Worksop to DB's Carlisle Kingmoor yard in early July.
HUNSLET (formerly LH Services)
NOW painted in Freightliner orange, No. 08785 was moved to Ipswich in early August to take up duties at the new Freightliner depot and wagon repair shops being constructed there. With no road access available at the Ipswich site, the '08' was taken from Barton under Needwood all the way to Felixstowe by road and then tripped back by rail to Ipswich.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
GWR's No. 08641 Pride of Laira is currently undergoing heavy repair at Plymouth Laira Depot, with a return to traffic by the end of the year planned.
PRESERVATION
AFTER undergoing repair at Pete Briddon's Darley Dale workshops, Thomas Hill 4wDH Charlie (265c/1976) has moved to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway at Wirksworth on loan.
The Plym Valley Railway has taken delivery of MoD No. 429 River Annan, a Ruston Hornsby LSSH 0-6-0DH (46618/1961). Normally based at the Avon Valley Railway, it has been at the Elsecar Railway and has been hired by the Plym Valley Railway to cover upcoming routine maintenance of their Class 08.
In March 2020 Chasewater Railway volunteer Phil Civil completed the restoration of his Bagnall 0-4-0 Myfanwy, which included a replacement engine and a brand-new cab, and for which he rightly won the HRA's Young Volunteer of the Year award. While most people would have taken a break to enjoy the fruits of their labour, Phil got straight on with the overhaul of his other locomotive, a Thomas Hill 4wDH (111c/1961). No new cab is required, although it has gained a replacement engine, an identical Rolls Royce one, from an industrial unit in Digbeth, Birmingham, where it was a standby generator and so very, very low on hours. Completed in around a year-and-a-half, it was rolled out on August 13, now wearing the colours of its original owners The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co Ltd, albeit with added wording, as the original had none. And, just to keep himself busy, Phil recently purchased another Thomas Hill 4wDH (103c/1960), which will now get the same treatment as the others, although at present no replacement is required. There was talk of this shunter going out on hire to an industrial concern, but that has now gone cold and the locomotive will remain at Chasewater for the foreseeable future.