Preservation first for the Peak Locomotive Company
IN WHAT is believed to be a preservation first, all four locomotives belonging to the Peak Locomotive Company – Class 44 D4 Great Gable, 45041 Royal Tank Regiment, 45108 and Class 46 D182 – were all in service on April 10.
This was the first time that all four locomotives belonging to the group were in action on the same day in their 40-year history.
It is understood that no other heritage modern traction locomotive group has previously operated so many of its locomotives in service on a normal operating day outside of a diesel event.
While D4 and D182 were in use at a special ‘Peak’ running weekend on their Midland Railway – Butterley home base, 45041 was in service on the Nene Valley Railway and 45108 was covering the diesel diagram on the East Lancashire Railway.
The PLC has been celebrating having all of its locomotives in a serviceable condition together for the first time in its history. While the two Class 45s are on long-term rolling hire contracts to the railways hosting them, D4 and D182 are due to attend both the Swanage Railway and Severn Valley Railway diesel events in May.
PLC chairman Mike Kerry told Railways Illustrated that both the Class 44 and Class 46 are available to any heritage line that wants to hire them. The weekend of April 9/10 proved to be popular for the operation of preserved ‘Peaks’, with D8 Penyghent in service at Peak Rail and D123 Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry also hauling trains on the Great Central Railway on April 9. A profile on the Peak Locomotive Company will be contained in the next issue.