Obituary – Barry Evans
IT IS with much sadness that the committee of the 71A Locomotive Group reports the death of the Group’s former Secretary, Barry Evans, on October 10, 2020 aged just 51 years and following a short battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
It said: “Barry’s interest in railways and Class 33s in particular probably started at the age of about 16, when our Chairman Brian Denton allowed a young lad a look around his locomotive in Barry’s home town of Andover. Soon Barry was joining the evergrowing band of followers of the class on the services they hauled, meeting and making life-long friends on the way. Many an early day was had from his work at Twining’s tea factory, when news came in of a loco swap at Salisbury or Waterloo. And Barry made friends wherever he went, and this included train crew, drivers and guards.
On withdrawal of the fleet, Barry’s interest turned to preservation and hundreds of miles were clocked up travelling to preserved lines from Cornwall to Scotland, to show his support. No driver could refuse to wind-up his trademark ‘BE’ on the headcode panel.
At that time Barry became involved in 71A Locomotive Group, joining our Committee as Secretary, a role he would retain until about a year ago, when he had to stand down due to ill health. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty either, assisting with the maintenance and running of the locos in our care, getting stuck in to some of the less glamorous tasks without complaint.
He soon became involved in main line running, assisting West Coast Railways as travelling support crew, which took him the length and breadth of the country, and with ‘BE’ on the head code panel it was easy to spot where he’d been, thanks to social media. His dedication and enthusiasm ensured he was present on each main line trip any Class 33 made without fail. And it was true, he could hear a compressor running from hundreds of miles away!
The Class 33 preservation scene will be that much poorer with Barry’s passing, but his legacy lives on, certainly within our Group and the broader railway family, and he is greatly missed, but remembered by all who had the privilege to know him. Our sincere condolences go to his family at this sad time.
A memorial page for Barry has been set up at https://barry-jamesevans.muchloved.com
The Committee of the 71A Locomotive Group