Departmentals & Internal Users - News - Latest news

News - Latest news - July 2005

16 July 2005 - thanks to John Hall, Andrew Jenkins, Brian Loughlin, Peter Hall, Simon Bendall, Mick Yates, Martin Barnsdall, Marcus Dawson for this article

Usual round-up of what's been going on over the last few months....

Sales and movements
It was discovered that the former Slateford shunter 97654 was moved to join Heritage Shunters at Rowsley. It moved there during April 2005.

977860 arrived Bournemouth by road on 26 April and had reached Salisbury by 30 April. For more about the naming of this unit click here

977934 still seems to be for sale but unfortunately it has suffered a grafitti attack during March while at the East Somerset Railway - photos and details here

Also still for sale are the following:
150246 at Bodmin and Wenford - photo and details here
977437 at Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway - photo and details here
Rare tank wagon 024752 at Wishaw - photo and details here
321073 at the Great Central Railway is for sale - photo and details here

999504 has moved to the Great Central Railway at Rothley - noted there on 10 May. It is being leased from EWS to the Loughborough Standard Loco Group for £1 a year. It is currently being repainted into maroon livery.

975051, 977390, 977449 and 977595 moved to Crewe TMD with 975991 from their long term storage in Crewe South Yard at the end of May. Only 975991 is due to be cut with 975051 & 977449 due to move to Long Marston and 977390 & 977595 due to move to Sinderby.

083394 has moved to the Swanage Railway (ex East Somerset Railway.)

977708 moved briefly to Long Marston from Barrow Hill but it has now moved to MOD Caerwent and is awaiting movement to the Pump House Museum at Walthamstow.

The two remaining Doncaster test train coaches that didn't go to Ludgershall (977788 and 977792) have a new home at Skipwith & North Duffield Station, North Yorkshire.

024959, 024960 and 024961 are all now at Embsay Steam Railway.

061021 is now at Swindon Steam Museum (Ex Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway.)

977796 is now at MOD Caerwent - this moved from Springburn by road on 25 May.

The two grounded internal users 041842 and 041843 left Bounds Green at the end of May - destination is unknown at present although it is thought they may have gone to Crewe - any more news welcome!
***UPDATE JULY 2005 *** These two vans are now at Cranmore on the East Somerset Railway.

The Hitachi V-train moved from Ilford to Shoeburyness by rail on 1 June for storage. 977981 remained at Ilford until 10 June when it was taken to Shoeburyness by road.

395476 moved to Chinnor from Southall - noted there 12 June. Other stock appears to have left from Southall too.

024887 & 025011 were noted at Moveright International's yard at Wishaw on 18 June. These had both come from Wolverton. Meanwhile other conflats 024875, 024881 and 024885 have moved from Wolverton to the Great Central Railway.

977987 from the Chiltern unit is back at LH Barton - noted there on 22 June. It is expected that 977988 is also present although not confirmed.

Grounded stores van 041682 from MOD Bicester has been removed to a farm in Oxfordshire.

DMU car 042222 has been obtained by a private individual and it will shortly be removed from Neville Hill.

096054 was recently discovered at the Caledonian Railway (formerly at Montrose.)

Disposals
025039 and 042155 arrived at Booths Rotherham from Toton in mid-April. 025039 was cut up during June while 042155 was still present at the beginning of July.

HNRC started cutting redundant stock at Crewe during May with 025018 and 17039 both disposed fairly quickly. However work ceased around the beginning of June meaning a temporary reprieve for 025017 and 975991.

024967 and 975514 (083656) were both broken up on site at the Swanage Railway - exact date unknown.

6347 from Wolverton was finally cut up at MOD Caerwent on 18 May.

The other van formerly at MOD Bicester 041683 was removed and broken up but the location and date is not currently known.

Investigations into the three IU vans at Wembley Heavy Repair Shops 024709, 024710 and 024711 revealed that they had recently been scrapped on site during general refurbishment works there.

Other news
86901 is now named "CHIEF ENGINEER" - reported towards the end of April.

Plasser & Theurer EM-SAT RT100 Survey Car 999800 was named "Richard Spoors" at Euston at the beginning of May. It is thought he is the Network Rail project manager for the West Coast mainline upgrade project.

6398 and 6399 are now fully branded with Maintrain and Midland Mainline logos with yellow chevron ends. These were noted at the beginning of May.

395776 at Aylesbury may soon be scrapped if a buyer doesn't come forward fairly soon to purchase and remove it. The whole area on that side of the station is being redeveloped and it seems the Railwaymen's Club will follow fairly soon.

977993 was noted passing Ledburn Junction in formation with the NMT on 28 June although it doesn't seem to be a permanent part of the train yet as 999550 was back in the train in mid-July.

977995 has been confirmed as ex-40619 - noted at Derby at the end of June.

999600 and 999601 (unit 950001) as well as 977337 have all been recently repainted yellow and 72630 and 72631 are now working with 999606 - and also now all in yellow livery.