PRESERVED SHUNTER NEWS
■ The Heritage Shunters Trust is to hold its first gala in more than a year on July 24/25 at its Rowsley base at Peak Rail. The star attraction will be D2229, with the repatriated Class 04 due to haul its first-ever passenger trains. Also due to be used on the brake van rides are Class 01 D2953, Class 02 D2854, Class 03 D2139, Class 04 D2205 and Class 05 D2587. Other locos in the collection will be on static display.
■ The Cholsey & Wallingford Railway is to hold a Class 08 running day on August 8, which will see ex-guinness examples 08022 and 08060 in action throughout the day along with 08123.
■ Class 03 03022 has been repainted into BR blue and was out on a loaded test at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway on May 23, with classmate 03152 tagging along for insurance.
■ At the Mangapps Railway Museum, Class 03 03089 was back in use on May 9 after the fuel pump slider bar that had become stuck had been freed.
■ The beginning of 2021 saw some work done on the three shunters based at Moreton-on-lugg, 03145, Class 04 D2302 and Class 05 D2578, before the latest lockdown started. D2302’s cab doors were rehung to see how they fitted with the new cab floorboards fixed in place. The left-hand cab door needed very little attention in this respect, except for some sanding down of the door frame to get it to close properly. The right-hand cab door was more of a problem, with quite a bit of sanding down of the new floorboards required. The latter door also had to have the door frame sanded down to get it to close properly. In the case of both doors, the tolerances were very fine, and just sanding the door frame was sufficient.
■ Once the lockdown started very little work was done on the three locos based at Moreton-onlugg. However, Class 05 D2578 did benefit from some attention to its battery wiring circuit and the battery isolating switch. During this the opportunity was taken to add an external battery charging point and also to look at the engine compartment internal lamp, which for the last 20 years everyone had thought didn’t work. It turned out that it did work and just needed a really good clean up; it wasn’t even necessary to change the bulb. During January the site owners had informed the group there was to be some redevelopment of the site that would involve some long-disused track being covered over. During February and most of March a small group of members set about lifting a point that was part of the affected track work. The point was lifted using hand tools and jacks, which made for some interesting problem solving. The site owners will arrange for the rest of the plain track to be lifted and stored for possible future use. With the easing of some lockdown restrictions at the end of March, work slowly resumed on the locos. ■ Class 08 D4118 is under investigation at Tenterden, Kent & East Sussex Railway, for an ongoing electronic problem with its former remote-control equipment. The team looking after the former 08888 is slowly narrowing it down, but it is far from straightforward compared to a standard machine. ■ May 9 was a busy day at the North Tyneside Railway and Class 08 08915 took a works’ train and ventured down the line. A number of jobs were undertaken, tree and bramble clearance was performed (limited, given the time of year) to improve sight lines and branches likely to foul passing trains. The strimmers were out clearing sections of the lineside and the littering picking has now reached just past the mile post, with another 14 bags taken back to base. A number of sections of fencing were also repaired.
■ The overhaul of the Class 11 12099 continues apace at Kidderminster Diesel Depot. In late May the loco was positioned over the pit and work continued to connect the main generator to the traction motors. The interior cab walls have now all been scraped, primed, undercoated and have had two coats of topcoat applied. The cab floors are now ready for attention.
■ The Battlefield Line and Shackerstone Diesels have managed to purchase Class 11-derivative Davy at the eleventh hour from the scrap man. Davey
was in an auction of assets from Llangollen Railway PLC, which recently went into administration. It was sold to a local scrap dealer who intended to cut it up. Tipped off about Davy’s plight, the scrapyard was contacted, a price was agreed and the lorry that was transporting it, was redirected to Shackerstone. The loco will make a useful addition to the Battlefield Line’s fleet, although its purchase has not come at the best time financially. So if you would like to make a donation towards Davy’s
purchase, however large or small, visit www.battlefieldline.co.uk/ news.html and any help would be very gratefully received.