43467 waits to depart York with 1A60, 06:45 Sunderland – London Kings Cross, 13th July 2012.

Locomotive History
Owned by the open access train operator, Grand Central, it is one of the class 43’s fitted with buffers on the nose end, (fitted during Class 91/DVT testing on the ECML). Originally built for ECML services it transferred to Cross Country services with the completion of the ECML electrification. Following the introduction of the class 220/221 Voyager fleet for Cross Country duties it was placed in store in May 2004. However 2007 saw Grand Central purchased six power cars outright from Porterbrook, including 43067, for there new open access ECML services and they were sent to DML Devonport to have the major refurbishments required to bring them back into frontline service. 43067 entered Brush, Loughborough in 2010 to be “re-engineered” and has had its original Paxman Valenta engine replaced by a MTU unit and has been renumbered 43467 in December 2010.

Tags:   13th July 43067 43467

© All Rights Reserved

56312 is stabled adjacent to Derby station, 9th July 2012.

Locomotive History
When introduced in the autumn of 1976 the class 56 was arguably the first of the "second generation" of UK diesel locomotives. The first thirty locomotives (56001-56030) were sub-contracted by Brush to be built by Electroputere in Romania. However when delivered it was discovered that they suffered from poor construction standards and it would take up to months for each locomotive to be accepted into traffic. 56312 was originally 56003 and arrived at Harwich accompanied by 56004 on the 14th August 1976. It would take over six months to sort out the problems with 56003 and it was not accepted into traffic by British Rail until the 28th February 1977. By July 1977 most of the Romanian class 56 locomotives had at last entered traffic and had taken over the Tinsley coal duties in the North Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire coalfields. The poor construction standard proved to be an issue through out their life and many of the Romanian locomotives were withdrawn from service early, commencing with 56002 in April 1992 with most being withdrawn by the end of 1999. 56003 was one of the last of the Romanian built class 56 to go, being withdrawn in April 1999. After eight years awaiting its fate it was purchased in 2007 by Hanson Traction, overhauled at the Nene Valley Railway and re-instated to main line operation as 56312 re-entering service at the end of 2008. Since re-entering service 56312 has seen intermittent use and has since the end of 2010 been owned and operated by BARS as a result of the purchase of Hanson Traction.

Tags:   9th July

© All Rights Reserved

66120 heads north past the DRIFT (Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal) with 4Z34, Crawley - Peak Forest empty aggregate hoppers, 11th July 2012.

Tags:   11th July

© All Rights Reserved

66955 heads south past the DRIFT (Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal) with 4L68, Birch Coppice – Felixstowe, 11th July 2012.

Locomotive History
66955 and was built in 2008 by General Motors - Electro Motive Division at their factory in London, Ontario, Canada and was unloaded at Newport Docks on the 11th November 2008.

66955 was exported to Poland in January 2024.

Tags:   11th July 66955

© All Rights Reserved

150210 waits to depart platform 8 at York with 2C15, 08:45 York – Leeds, 13th July 2012.

Unit History
150210 is from the final batch of eighty five two-car class 150 units which were built at York works in 1986/87 and are fitted with front-end gangway connections.

Tags:   13th July 150210

© All Rights Reserved