The Railway Magazine – August 2019

92 •TheRailway Magazine•August2019

Llangollen diesel

highsand lows

A1A Locomotives’Class 31

No.31271Stratford1840- 2001

madeasuccessful debut on

the LlangollenRailway (LR) on

June 16.

This follows its eviction from

the NeneValley Railway and

May4-6 gala appearanceonthe

ChurnetValley Railway

(RMMarch, p91).

TheBrush Type 2isdue

to stayonthe LRforatl east

twoseasons.The A1ALocos

team, basedat theMidland

Railway-Butterley,Derbyshire,

has provided crew training so

Llangollen Diesel Group (LDG)

members can operate and

maintain the locoasrequired.

Just twodaysbefore

No.31271 enteredtraffic on

the LRresidentBrush Type 4

No.1566 failed when called on

to cover the day’ssteam service.

It shut down afterarrivingat

Llangollen stationto collectits

train andwould notrestart; the

automaticvoltageregulator

(AVR) had failed spectacularly

with broken piecesforming a

pile under the unit.

AreplacementAVR wasfitted,

and afterafew problems the

locowas started. However,

further investigationwas

required and it iswashoped

it would be fitforoperation

during theAugust 3-4 1960s

weekend.

■Our thanksto:Phil Barnes;
Simon Baylis (NRM);DonBishop;
Pete Briddon, Josh Brinsford; Eric
Bussingham;Matt Cambourne
(DEPG); Andrew Jeffery;
AndyMarrison, DavidMee;
TezPickthall and ChrisWeeks

‘Crompton’for

DeanForestgala

SPAValley Railway-based

Class33 No.33063R. J. Mitchell

is the guestforthe Dean Forest

Railway’s September13-15

diesel gala.

Kent &EastSussex

‘Brillo’speci alcancelled

THEPLEG/BLS‘AndrewWilson

(‘Brillo’) Memorial’char ter,

postponedfromMay until

July 13 (RMJune, p92), was

cancelled.The Kent &East

SussexRailway wasunableto

complete the work required

on Class08No. D4118(08888),

and no suitablealternativewas

available.

‘Crompton’Sophie

headsforWirks worth

CHURNETValleyRailw ay-based

Class33 No.33102Sophieis

visiting theEcclesbourneValley

Railway fo rits August10-11

diesel gala.

Grea tCentralgala

guestspredicted

VISITORS forthe Gr eatCentral

Railway’s September 6-8 are

expected to be Class17‘Clayton’

No.D8568, from the Chinnor&

PrincesRisborough Railway,and

the much-travelled Class25

No.D7535, from theSouth

DevonRailw ay.

‘Hoo ver’Gloriousgoes

by railto Eastleigh

CLASS50 No.50033Glorious

wastaken fromthe Severn

Valley Railway to Eastleigh

Works on July 10forrepainting.

It wastop-and-tailedby

classmatesNos.50007Hercules

and50049Defiance.

EEType1backat

theGreatCentral

CLASS20 No.D8098returned

to theGreat Central Railway in

early -July,having beenawayfor

several monthsreceivingpower

unitrepair satHNRC, Barrow Hill.

It is owned byType 1LocoCo.

Residentdieselsrun

at PeakRailga la

PEAKRail’s mixed trafficgala

on August 10-11sees Class25

No.D7659 and Class 44 No.D4

Penyghenttaking turns with

stea m.

SIDELINES

Avon Valley buys a‘Gronk’ for£1

THE AvonValley Railway took

deliveryoff ully operational Class

08 No.08663 on July8–being

in effectadonation from Great

WesternRailway (GWR).

Thelocohas been used inrecent

years at GWR’sStPhilip’s Marsh

depot,Bristol formoving diesel

multiple units and high-speed

train carriages around the depot.

The350hp shunterisf itted

with air brakes and needs some

work to enable itto haul theAVR’s

vacuum-braked stock.Itw ill be

usefulat Bitton stationforthe

railway’s weekly shunting duties

and occasionalworkstrains,asitis

relatively quiet.

However, the AVRwillbe

lookingforopportunitiesto hire

out the locoinorder to help pay

forits maintenance.

Class 09 No.09015, in faded

EWSliver y, arri vedatBittonon

July 10 from RSS,Wishaw.

Right: Former GreatWestern

Railway TOCClass 08 No.08663

(D3830) is seenat Avon Valley

Railway,Bitton on July 13.

ItsSt.Silasname has been

removed.PETER NICHOLSON

THE seven-year restor ation

of Ruston&Hornsby

No.544997 has been

completedat Rocksby Rail,

Cottesmore, Rutland.

This is a28-ton, 200hp

LPSEtype 0-4-0DE, and

wasthe penultimate loco

builtby the Lincoln firm

in 1969.

Thelast,No. 544998, is

preservedbythe Tarka

Valley Railway,Devon

(RMOct2017).

Thework has been

undertakenby owner

Eric Bussingham with

assistancefromvolunteers.

Areplacementengine

of thecorrecttype has

been fitted,which was

previously used as a

hospital generator.

Thelocohas been

namedEric Tonksafter

thelate industrialrailway

author whocompiled the

definitivehistor yofRuston

Hornsbydiesel locos.

Thelocousually shunts

the yard on quarrytrain

demonstration days with

three other diesels,while

asteam locoprovides

brakevan rides.

THE LlangollenRailway (LR) has

been offered Class 25 No.D7535

forits September 28-29 diesel gala.

With residentClass 26 No.5310

out of action (see separate story)

this would be mostwelcome,but

funds needto be raised to co ver

the £3,000cost of road transport

to andfromNorth Wales.

This would be the loco’sfirst

visit to Wales in preservation and

the first Class 25to run on the LR

sinceNo. 25313 in 2008.

It would stayfor aboutfour

weeks including the gala

weekend.

Acrowd funding appeal can

be found at:https://www.

crowdfunder.co.uk/7535-v

SouthDevon

‘Rat’heading to

Llangollen gala?

Penultimate

Ruston

restored at

Rutl and

Class 26 No.5310 is seenat LlangollenonMarch 29 in its unique

liver y. Althou gh nevercarriedby this loc oinservic e, it wasapplied

to classmate No.5335 in the 1970s.Itw as initially intendedto give

aquick tidy-up of No.5310’sshabbygreen bodysides,but resulted

in amorethorough job than planned,and isexpectedtosee the

locomotivethrou gh threeto fiveyears beforeafurtherrepaintis

required.MARK SMALES

Class 31 No.31271Stratford 1840-2001is on an extended visitto the Lla ngollenRailway,providing

something differenttos ee on theWelsh railway.Itisproving popular with crewsand most visitors,

but it is notto ev eryone’s taste!It is seenat Carrog on itsfirst dayint raffic,onJune 16.TEZ PICKTHALL

Class 26 No.5310, in early-

1970s BRgreenliverywith

full yellowends andD-less

numbers,was movedtothe

GloucestershireWarwickshire

Railway,Toddington on June 4.

Theplan wastol iftthe locoand

fit anoverhauledreplacement

traction motor.This had been

acquired from theCotswold

Mainline Diesel Group,which

looks aftersisterNo. D5343at

Toddington.

No.5310 could then have

returnedto traffic and taken

partint he July diesel gala.

Unfortunately,inp reparing

forthe lif t, it wasdiscovered

No.4tractionmotor had also

sustainedabearing failure.

Damageto thecommutator

wasextensive, but repairable,

although itwasnot ableto be

completed in timeforthe gala.

Following further inspection,

three other motors arebeing

removedfor overhaulto av oid

failure, so thework is taking

longer andcosting morethan

budgeted.

When complete, No.5310 is

expected to work some trains

on the Gloucs-Warksbefore

return ing to Llangollen.

ClassicTraction TrackRecord

Yo urreports and

pictures aremostwelcome.

Highlycompetitiverates

arepaid,especially if

exclusivetoTheRM.

COMPILED BY

PETER

NICHOLSON

Call: 01507 529589

email: classic.traction

@btopenworld.com