Shunting locos

• Four industrial diesels were used at various points during the Chasewater Diesel Gala on Saturday 20th October 2007, and they worked both freight and passenger services. This is the late-running 12:45 coal train from Chasetown, seen on the approach to Chasewater Heaths at 13:06. The loco is "Birch Coppice", or more specifically Thomas Hill 134C, a visitor from the Nene Valley Railway.
• This shot shows Hudswell-Clarke 0-6-0 D2511 and 08266 at Haworth shed on the morning of Saturday 18th June 2005. There's a brief history of D2511 at the Preserved Shunters website. Like all its class-mates it was withdrawn by British Rail in 1967, far too early to acquire a TOPS number, and has now been on the KWVR for the best part of 30 years. By comparison 08266, latterly a Shirebrook loco, lasted until 1985 I believe.
• In early 1981 Lincoln had an allocation of four vacuum-braked Class 03s, specifically 03026 03034 03149 and 03389. This picture was taken that same year and shows 03034 parked behind the station at Boston. To the best of my recall there were still two 03 duties at Boston at this time, one for the dock duty and one spare, and it was the spare engine that was parked at the station. Within two years it was all over for Lincoln's 03s, 03149 was withdrawn in November 1982 and the other three followed in February 1983. The only survivor was dual-braked 03162, briefly transferred in from Colchester before moving on to Birkenhead when the others were withdrawn.
• Once upon a time Barrow Hill had a small allocation of Class 03s, primarily for use at the nearby Staveley steel works. In the mid 1970s there were three such locos, namely 03129, 03189 and 03389. The latter was transferred to Stratford in about 1977, but the other two stayed at Barrow Hill into the 1980s. 03129 was withdrawn from traffic towards the end of 1981, but wasn't disposed of until 1983. Meantime 03189 moved on to Birkenhead and survived in traffic until 1986. It was one of the last, if not the very last, vacuum-only Class 03s, and is now preserved. Rides behind one of the 03s were a regular feature of Barrow Hill open days in the late 70s/early 80s, and this pic shows 03129 in action at one such event (1980 I think). Note the lack of fencing and hi-vis vests, plus the kids riding in the cab.
• 03189 is dwarfed by Cargowaggons while parked in Bescot Down Yard in the summer of 1986. These locos were only ever seen at Bescot while in transit between depots and/or works. I have a dim memory that this one may have been en-route to Norwich, it departed the following day in a Toton-bound freight hauled by a pair of 20s (the Cargowaggons weren't in that consist). Taped to the cabside, just to the right of the data panel, is the ticket showing the origin and destination of the loco.
• 03197 stands amongst the Cravens DMUs at Norwich Depot in this shot taken circa 1980.
• Ex-works 03382 was one of the exhibits at the Swindon Works Open Day which took on Saturday 19th May 1979. Thanks to Jeff B for supplying the exact date. 
• 03397 was the Yarmouth pilot on this day in the summer of 1980. The poster on the left is advertising the "new Allegro 3".
• This picture shows D3022 shunting carriages from Kidderminster station to the shed, and was taken at 16:21 on Wednesday 7th May 2008. This loco carried the TOPS number 08015, and was allocated to Shirebrook in the mid 1970s. It moved to Tinsley before being withdrawn in 1980. Built circa 1953 D3022 has now spent longer in preservation than it did in capital stock.
• 08137 is stabled at Spalding, with shunter's pole in the usual position resting across one buffer and the coupling hook. This photo was taken in summer 1981, at which point the loco was allocated to Lincoln depot. This long-time Lincoln loco was withdrawn from traffic in late 1982.
• Not a very good photo this, but I've included it for its novelty value. It shows the Polmadie Works pilot engine, PO1, and it was taken on Saturday 26th May 1979. Previously this had been Eastfield depot's 08173, withdrawn in late 1978. As this picture shows it appears to have been renumbered by having masking tape applied over its original number, with "PO1" simply painted above. Looking at various 1980s loco refs it seems that PO1 survived in this role until around 1984, by 1985 it was listed as awaiting disposal. Thanks to Jeff B for supplying the exact date. 
• 08195 shunts the yard at Radyr. This photo was taken in 1981.
• 08223 is seen at Swindon Works on the occasion of the 1979 Open Day. It was a Tinsley loco at this time, and it was at Swindon because it had incurred collision damage after running away down the bank at Tinsley - not the only loco to do this. I no longer have my notes from 1979, but I think the Open Day was on Saturday 5th May. I'd seen 08223 at Bescot as recently as Wednesday 2nd May 1979 as it headed south. It didn't survive this incident, being withdrawn in June 1979 and cut-up at Swindon in 1980.
• Now a couple of scans. This first one dates from autumn 1981, and shows 08343 and 08312 heading a line of stabled Class 08s in the depot yard at Motherwell. Note the shedcode above 08343's coupler hook. 67C was the code for Ayr, which was 08343's previous allocation.
• The Chasewater Railway acquired D3429 from the Telford Steam Railway prior to the 2010 school holiday period. The former 08359 was in use on Saturday 28th August, and is seen here approaching Norton Lakeside Halt while working the 11:30 Chasetown - Brownhills.
• 08393 was returned from Daventry to Bescot in mid-August 2009. It subsequently spent some time in active use at Bescot, primarily as depot pilot, but was put into store at the end of September. For several weeks it was dumped in the Down Storage Sidings, where this photograph was taken on the afternoon of Sunday 25th October.
• In early June 2005 most of the withdrawn and stored locos on Bescot depot were moved into the yard. The bulk of them were moved to the Local Sidings, but five Class 08s were moved to a siding near the Down Hump instead. The siding in question used to be the engine release road for the hump, and had only been dead-ended a short while beforehand. The locos parked near the hump at this time were 08543, 08828, 08884, 08418 and 08577, with 543 at the northern end. All five locos remained in this location until summer 2010, when some of them were sold. The picture shows 08418, and was taken on the afternoon of Tuesday 28th June 2005. This loco was eventually sold to the West Coast Railway Company, and left Bescot by road on Tuesday 3rd August 2010.
• During the 1970s 08421 was an Eastfield loco, but by the early 1980s it had been transferred to Motherwell and was stored unserviceable. In 1982 it was sent to Swindon Works to be overhauled and fitted with air-brakes, after which it was re-allocated to Haymarket. In this picture it's seen at Bescot on the journey south. It had arrived in the early hours of Saturday 14th August, because in this view it's still formed in the middle of a freight train parked in the Down Reception Sdgs. As usual with works-bound shunting locos the connecting rods have been removed. The position of the BR logo on the toolbox indicates that this loco was last overhauled at Glasgow Works, as would be expected for a Scottish engine.
• On the morning of Saturday 25th July 2009 a very smoky D3586 (08471) shunted D1013 off Bridgnorth shed.
• 08124 and 08495 are stabled at Norwich in this shot dating from Spring 1980. I'd seen 08124 many times before as it was allocated to Bescot in the early 1970s, before migrating to Norwich via Doncaster. 08495 was once a Cambridge loco, and was stored there before being re-instated to service at Norwich. I suspect both of these locos were transferred to Norwich to replace vacuum-braked Class 03s.
• By 2005 the withdrawn 08s at Bescot vastly outnumbered the working examples, and there were are usually just two serviceable shunters in attendance - one at the north end working the Down Yard, and the other at the south end shunting the Engineers Sidings (with occasional visits to the Virtual Quarry and Down Side yards). Locos are rarely swapped on these duties nowadays, as there simply aren't any spare ones available as a rule. If either fails then a mainline loco steps in until it's been repaired or a spare can be procured from another location. For instance in late September 2005 the regular north end pilot (08709) was out of traffic for just over a week, and the job was covered by 37s and 66s. This shot shows the south end pilot (08578) shunting in the Down Yard. It had just arrived from the up side with the rake of MHAs visible in the background, and was shunting onto another road to collect a different rake of engineers wagons.
• 08580 was the pilot engine at Bescot Engineers Yard on Saturday 22nd May 2004. This shot was taken at 08:41 during a pause in the shunt of a welded rail set. At this time there were two 08 duties at Bescot, a third duty (the ballast pilot) having recently been abolished, with the work being covered by a main-line loco or (latterly) the Engineers Yard pilot. The second 08 duty extant at this time was the Down Yard pilot, which was 08939 on this day. Following the loss of Enterprise traffic the Down Yard pilot duty was abolished in August 2009, leaving the Engineers Yard pilot as the sole duty at Bescot.
• There are no fewer than twelve 08s in this line-up at Bescot. Shunting engines weren't normally stabled on the Holding Sidings, they were parked on the depot. However at Christmas they would sometimes be stabled with the main-line locos (and left running) for frost protection reasons. Closer inspection of the original scan reveals that the first three locos are 08588, 08613 and 08466.
• 08601 was the station pilot at Birmingham New St in this shot taken during autumn 1986. At this time Tyseley depot had two Class 08s painted in non-standard liveries: 601 in LMS black, named Spectre; and 604 in BR green, named Phantom. 601 survived with EWS until 1999, and was eventually cut-up in 2005.
• 08604 at Birmingham New St, taken in late 1986.
• Warm evening sun illuminates 08700 as it shunts Bescot Down Storage Sidings in this early 1980s shot. During the early days of the Air-Braked Network and Speedlink air-braked freights were shunted here, whereas vacuum and unbraked trains continued to use the Down Reception Sidings and Down Yard. As the vacuum traffic fell off and the number of air-braked trains increased all traffic began to use the Down Yard, and the Storage Sidings pilot loco was no longer required.
• The Bescot Down Yard pilot stands on the Down Main line north of Bescot Jct while shunting wagons from the depot into the yard. This shot was taken at 11:56 on Saturday 17th December 2005. 08709 was named "Molly's Day" on Saturday 1st October 2005, after the charity event of the same name which took place at Walsall. The use of the Down Main as a headshunt is a long term practise at Bescot, when I was growing up in the 1970s rakes of wagons would be tripped between the Down and Up side yards by Class 08 shunters. Nowadays only the movement of repair wagons (as here), or the depot fuel tank shunt, generate a running line movement - and the latter can be done using the shunt neck if there are only a couple of four wheel tanks involved.
• This picture shows 08732 stabled at its home depot of Motherwell. I've no idea when it was taken, but I believe it was the early 1980s. 08732 is the erstwhile D3900, and at this point it would have been vacuum-braked only because it still carries its BR logo on the toobox indicating that it was last overhauled at Glasgow Works. In 1982 it went to Swindon where it was fitted with train air-brakes, becoming a dual-braked loco. It returned to Scotland after this overhaul, and in 1984 it was allocated to Dunfermline Townhill. After that depot closed it went to Thornton Junction, but by 1990 it had migrated back to Motherwell. Eventually converted to 09202 it currently languishes out of traffic at Doncaster Carr depot.
• Saltley depot's 08742 waits for the road at Duddeston having just dropped on to the back of an ECS train from New St. It will draw the train back and propel them into the carriage shed, which is the brick building to the right. This shot was taken in 1980 and anyone who caught northbound Cross City or Walsall trains at Duddeston in the 1970s and 1980s will be familiar with the game of "guess the platform" which played itself out when an ECS was sat here. There was no warning if a local was routed via the Curzon St line, and the ECS would block your view of the approaching train. Solution: wait on the steps to get a better view.
• 08774 (Thornaby), 08114 (Doncaster) and 08396 (Kingmoor) stand in Bescot Down Storage Sidings in Spring 1980. All three had recently been released from Swindon Works and arrived at Bescot as a special freight, the brake-van of which is still attached. As per normal practise they'd be split up at Bescot and continue their journey home in the consist of scheduled freight trains. Hundreds of shunting locos made similar trips to and from Derby and Swindon Works during the 1970s and 1980s.
• 08808 stands in the down side bay platform at the south end of Carlisle station. This picture was taken on a colour transparency, but I couldn't fix the colour casts to my satisfaction, hence the monochrome version. I was on some sort of rover ticket when I took this shot, and had done an overnight stint on Carlisle station. All I remember of this night was the cold. I caught the first DMU to Workington and back solely to warm up, but inevitably as soon as I got on the unit I fell asleep.
• Withdrawn 08828 is seen dumped in Bescot Yard on the afternoon of Saturday 1st October 2005, with the RAC Control Centre in the background. 08828 was withdrawn from traffic in early 2004, and had barely turned a wheel in service after overhaul when mechanical problems led to its demise. This is why it looks in reasonable condition externally, despite having been sat in the open for well over a year at the time this photo was taken. This loco remained in the same spot until late July 2010, when it was moved back onto Bescot depot along with five other shunters which has been sold by DBS (namely 08418, 528, 543, 884 and 920).
• Here's the next shunter along, 08884 in its faded blue paintwork. This was taken on the same day as the previous picture - at which time it was the only shunter at Bescot still in BR blue livery. Stand square on to this loco and you could see right through the engine compartment.
• Long-withdrawn 08828 stands near the gate at Bescot depot on Saturday 14th August 2010. This was one of six 08s recovered from the siding by the Tower signalbox in late July of that year. Of these 08528, 08920, 08543, and 08418 had all departed by road, leaving 828 and 884 still round the back of the depot when this photo was taken. On Wednesday 11th August 828 was moved into this spot, which is the normal position for locos leaving by road. In the event 828 didn't leave Bescot until February 2011, when it moved to Thomson's scrapyard in Stockton, where it was broken up in April of that year.
• 08844 was the Bescot up-side pilot on Wednesday 6th February 2008. At 12:05 it was in the virtual quarry while a short rake of HQA ballast hoppers was being loaded.
• 08844 sits atop a lorry at Bescot TMD on the afternoon of Saturday 6th August 2011. It had been withdrawn from service in June 2009, and was one of the last five withdrawn 08s at Bescot, all of which were put up for sale in April 2011. Three were subsequently sold, 842, 844 and 905. On Wednesday 3rd August 842 and 844 were shunted into position for departure, by an MPV of all things, and 844 was the first to leave. It had been loaded by noon, but a problem with the lorry meant that it didn't leave until around 15:15. It went to EMR at Kingsbury, who eventually broke it up in March 2012. The other two withdrawn 08s at Bescot, 580 and 709, remained there into 2013.
• 08928 is loaded onto a road trailer at the rear of Bescot depot. This shot was taken around 13:00 on Saturday 27th February 1993. The loco was in the process of being transferred to Norwich, and the lorry departed from Bescot around 14:45. The routine movement of shunting engines by road had only just started at this time, and the loading procedure was still a bit of a novelty. Nowadays such movements are common, and somewhere around the country one or more railway vehicles, often shunting locos, are being moved around by road almost every working day.
• 08955 left Bescot at 16:20 on Wednesday 18th March 2009, when it started its final journey to Booths scrapyard in Rotherham. It was broken up in July 2009. The route for these sort of movements takes the loco on a short tour of suburban Wednesbury, starting in Pemberton Crescent and then via Coronation Road, Crankhall Lane, Woden Road East, and finally Wood Green Road where access to the motorway is available. This was something of a grab shot, taken at the north end of Coronation Road.
• 09013 trundles off the Uskmouth branch and into East Usk Yard with empties from (I presume) the steelworks at BSC Orb. I can't find the date for this shot, Fuji failed to put one on the slide mount, so I guess it must be from the period covered by my lost notebook, which was summer 1989. All I can remember of this day is that a very long time elapsed between the branch semaphore dropping off and the train appearing.
• "Gillian" (HAB 6769) was a Hunslet-Barclay 0-6-0DH used at Ebbw Vale tinplate works, and is seen here on Friday 29th March 1996. It shared duties with two similar locos called "Laura" and "Tracey". On one of my visits to Ebbw Vale the driver of one of these shunters invited me along for a quick ride down from the reversing siding in which Gillian stands into the works itself, and back. He even let me drive the loco, which was very kind of him. Sadly the works closed in 2002.