Formerly preserved Class 56 leaves Ruddington

The Class 56 previously preserved at Ruddington on the Nottingham Heritage Railway left the site on November 3, after being sold by its former owners.

56097 had been based at Ruddington since 2002, where it arrived after being purchased from English Welsh and Scottish Railways for preservation. It returned to service in 2008 following a comprehensive restoration and rebuild.

As well as regularly operating at its home base, the locomotive also made successful working visits to the East Lancashire Railway and Mid-norfolk Railway to attend diesel events at the heritage lines. However, it was announced earlier this year that the Class 56’s owner had been asked to relocate the locomotive to a new home as the NHR board had decided that 56097 was no longer required by the railway (Railways Illustrated issue 232).

Three months later, a further announcement from the owner stated that the locomotive and a large quantity of spare parts were being offered for sale. It is understood that at least one proposed sale of the locomotive fell through.

56097’s owner has not stated who has bought the locomotive, or any of the spare parts that have also been sold, but the Railfreight triple grey coal sector liveried 56097 has been delivered to Electro-motive Diesels at Longport, which is where a number of Class 56s are being converted to Class 69s for GB Railfreight.

It is currently unknown if 56097 is at Longport to be added to the Class 69 conversion programme, as a source of spares parts or for another purpose.

Some of the spare parts offered for sale at the same time the locomotive was put up for disposal are understood to have been acquired by a number of different groups in the preservation sector.

The loss of 56097 as a preserved locomotive means that 56006 and main line registered 56301 are the only Class 56s now remaining in preservation, with both owned by the Class 56 Group. 56006 is based on the East Lancashire Railway but has seen little use in recent times due to various faults and only a small band of volunteers available to assist with its maintenance, while 56301 has recently returned to main line use with Colas after a prolonged period out of use.

Bill Pizer Thanks for the memories: With its days as a preserved locomotive seemingly behind it, 56097 stands in the yard at EMD at Longport on November 6, 2022. This photograph was taken from a public place and not on private land.