50021 Rodney misses the party at Swanage Diesel Gala

PROBLEMS DISCOVERED with an axle on 50021 Rodney meant that the newly-restored locomotive was unable to be moved to the Swanage Railway to take part in its annual Diesel Gala & Beer Festival in early May.

It had long been the aim of the team involved in the revival of 50021 that it would return to service at Swanage following completion of its restoration. Volunteers, led by

Paul Spracklen, have been working hard on the reassembly of the locomotive at Arlington Fleet Services, Eastleigh, following an extensive rebuild over the past seven years. The Class 50 was restarted for the first time in 22 years in early April (Railways Illustrated, issue 232). However, during ultrasonic axlebox testing of the locomotive in preparation for its planned move to Swanage, one of the axles did not give a clear indication, meaning that it could not be passed for hauling over Network Rail. Sadly, there was insufficient time to resolve the problem before the Swanage diesel event, which is a highlight of the annual diesel gala season. Mr Spracklen’s 50026 Indomitable did return to service at the event, having been out of service for more than four years following an ETH generator failure at the Mid-norfolk Railway in 2018. The Network Southeast-liveried Class 50 has also received a top-end overhaul of the engine while it has been out of service.

The locomotive has been undergoing testing at Swanage since arriving on the line in mid-april, and these tests are the first stages of work to recertify the locomotive for main line running, which has been a long-held ambition of its owner.