£10,000 to view Ivatt Diesel Re-creation’s ‘Big Lift’

WHEN the big day arrived on August 22 to lift Class 58 No. 58022’s main frame from its bogies, this was not publicised for safety reasons. Only those directly involved were allowed on site, other than those who have donated £10,000 or more to the project. They were invited to attend to view proceedings from a safe distance. Dynamic and visible steps forward in a major project are always popular and reassuring, and for the Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society (IDRS), constructing a new LMS-type No. 10000, this was one such event. After the frame of the much-stripped ‘Bone’ was lifted from its bogies it was inverted and placed on the society’s ‘Sturgeon’ wagon. This manoeuvre enables access to the underside of the frame and attachment of parts so the chassis will fit the ex-EM2 class bogies. This is a vital part of the process to create the rolling chassis for the new Class D16/1. Those querying why a Class 58 has been ‘sacrificed’ for a new-build project need to remember that this example would have been scrapped had it not been purchased by the IDRS specifically for this purpose. On the other hand, there were many more years of useful life in the Class 58s on the national network had they not all met a premature end in the UK.

IDRS New-build No. 10000’s donor loco, No. 58022, was cleaned of all unwanted parts at the IDRS base at Wirksworth on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, in readiness for the ‘big lift’ on August 22. All bodywork, major components, the cabs and concrete block ballast weights had been removed (RM July p85). The frame is seen on its side following removal from the bogies by two large cranes, prior to placing on a bogie wagon upside down, giving a very rare view of the underside of a Class 58 without its bogies in place.