Wednesbury locos
Sixty different locos feature in the three tables of train movements through Wednesbury in 1976. This table lists the fourteen which were still in existence in July 2008.
| Loco | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 08588 | Operational | This loco had migrated to Haymarket (Edinburgh) by 1983, but two years later it was taken out of traffic. It was subsequently overhauled and fitted with dual-brakes, and in 1990 it was allocated to Thornaby (Middlesbrough). It subsequently moved south to Neville Hill (Leeds). By 2003 it had been taken out of traffic again, and it was moved to the Wabtec railway works in Doncaster. Now in the ownership of hire company "RT Rail" this loco was overhauled and returned to traffic in the Spring of 2006, at which time it was being used at Peak Forest. Later in 2006 it moved to Ilford. |
| 08765 | Stored | The number of shunting locos operated by British Rail fell steadily between 1976 and 1995 when the railways were privatised. Most of what was left eventually passed into the hands of EWS, but in 2004 and 2005 a significant number of those locos were taken out of use, leaving just 50 or so in traffic. The remaining locos are often swapped with stored examples as maintenance and operational needs dictate. 08765 is one of the EWS survivors, and it remained a Bescot engine until well into the 21st century. In the last couple of years it's been used in a number of locations around the south of England, eventually migrating to Eastleigh where it was operational in May 2006. However by July 2008 it had been put into store at Eastleigh. |
| 08783 | Stored | This is another of the EWS survivors, but unlike 08765 it roamed far and wide in the intervening years. In 1983 it was allocated to Derby, and in 1985 Tinsley (Sheffield). By 1990 it was still heading north and had reached Holbeck (Leeds) - and by 1992 it was allocated to Knottingley. After a spell out of traffic it became an Immingham loco sometime around 2000, but by 2003 it had migrated south to Wembley where it was withdrawn in 2004. By chance 08783 was back in the Black Country in late July 2005, spending a week back at Bescot before being re-instated to traffic and moved to Hams Hall to shunt intermodal trains. It was still working at Hams Hall in May 2006, but by July 2008 it was in store at Toton. |
| 08827 | Stored | This loco was transferred to Eastfield in late 1976 or early 1977, and it remained in Scotland thereafter. Another loco which passed into the hands of EWS it was allocated to Motherwell when withdrawn in 2000, and remained there until September 2005. It was subsequently sold by EWS and moved to Barrow Hill at which location it was still stored in May 2006. In July 2008 it had been moved to Long Marston, where it was still in store. |
| 20007 | Preserved | Despite their age many Class 20s survived in traffic until the early 1990s, outliving most of the other small Modernisation diesels by several years. 20007 was withdrawn in 1993, and was subsequently bought for preservation. As of May 2006 it was located at the Churnet Valley Railway, but in autumn 2007 it moved to the Great Central Railway (North) at Nottingham. |
| 20092 | Stored | This loco survived in traffic until 1994, having spent its final years allocated to the Technical Services division and wearing their distinctive red livery. It was last allocated to Bescot for maintenance purposes, but in practise it worked mainly in the Neasden area on an engineering contract. After withdrawal it was sold to DRS, but never made it back into traffic. In July 2005 it was still part of the DRS stored fleet, located at MoD Smalmstown in Cumbria. In March 2006 it was moved to Barrow Hill and it was still there in July 2008. |
| 20128 | Operational | 20128 also spent its last years based Bescot. It was one of four Class 20s allocated to British Rail Telecomms (BRT). These locos didn't actually spend much time on BRT duties, and during their last two years they worked a variety of regular trip freights around the West Midlands. During this period 20128 acquired the name Guglielmo Marconi after the radio pioneer. After withdrawal in March 1997 this loco was acquired by DRS, but unlike 20092 it was refurbished and subsequently re-entered traffic as 20307. In July 2008 it was still operating in that guise, working mainly nuclear flask trains for DRS. |
| 20139 | Preserved | Withdrawn in May 1991 this loco was one of four Class 20s subsequently sold to CFD, a French railway company. Its CFD number was 2003, and it was based at Autun, in the Bourgogne region of France. By 2005 all four had been out of use for several years, but they've subsequently been purchased for preservation and were repatriated to the UK in summer 2005. On its return 20139 was placed in store at Goodman's Yard in Sutton Coldfield, and it was still there in July 2008. This photo shows 20139 at Wednesbury in January 1991 - it's the one on the left. |
| 20142 | Preserved | This loco was withdrawn in 1992, and subsequently sold into preservation. Its current base is the Llangollen Railway. |
| 25262 | Preserved | This loco was one of twelve Class 25s to be re-numbered into the 25/9 series in 1985. 25262 became 25901 and was one of the last Class 25s in traffic, surviving until early 1987. It was subsequently sold into preservation, and in July 2008 was based at the South Devon Railway. |
| 37183 | Stored | This loco was transferred to Eastfield in 1982. In 1988 it was refurbished and re-numbered to 37884, at which point it returned to Wales and was allocated to Cardiff. In the following three or four years it would often have visited Wednesbury on metals workings from South Wales. In 2001 it was taken out of traffic and selected as one of the locos to be exported to Spain as part of a contract to work engineering trains. It left Britain in the summer of 2001, and its new operator ("GIF") gave it the number L34. To the best of my knowledge it was still in Spain, out of use, in May 2006. |
| 47254 | Operational | 47254 was fitted with electric train heat and re-numbered to 47651 in 1986. Three years later it was fitted with extra fuel tanks and re-numbered once again to 47806. In 2003 the bodyshell was fitted with a new engine, and effectively re-built as 57309. At this point it became a Virgin Trains' "Thunderbird" locomotive, and was renamed "Brains" after the bespectacled genius from the 1960s Gerry Anderson puppet series. In July 2008 it remained in regular use with Virgin. |
| 47289 | Stored | Quite a late survivor for an un-refurbished loco, 47289 was owned by Freightliner when it was taken out of traffic in 2003. In July 2008 it was stored at Basford Hall, Crewe. |
| 47554 | Operational | 47554 was re-numbered to 47705 in 1979, and spent most of the 1980s working passenger trains in Scotland. Like 47254 this loco was re-built as a Class 57 in 2003, this one becoming becoming 57303. Like 57309 this loco is also in regular use a "Thunderbird" loco. 57303 is named "Alan Tracy" after the pilot of Thunderbird 3. |
When this page was first created in 2005 there were seventeen survivors, but three of them had been broken up by July 2008. For the record they were: 37114, disposed of at EMR Kingsbury in January 2008; 47280, which ended its days at the same scrapyard in December 2007; and finally 47531, which in its renumbered guise of 47775 was broken up at Crewe in April 2006.
More information about the fate of these survivors, as well as those which have been cut-up, can be found at End of the Line. Another excellent resource for information about Class 47s and Class 57s is The 47's website.