Former Craigentinny pilot No. 08472 has been sold into private ownership by Hunslet as part of the company’s continuing downsizing of its pool of Class 08s. Once part of the Wabtec fleet, it had been in Hunslet ownership since early 2021 but the loss of the Craigentinny duty to Railway Support Services in May 2023 saw No. 08472 largely made redundant. A period in store at the Stoke yard of haulier Reid Freight Services followed before five months at Bardon Hill Quarry covering for an industrial, although it was little used. August 2024 saw it moved to the Chasewater Railway under Hunslet’s agreement with the preserved line, it seeing occasional passenger use in the intervening period. Now owned by an established preservationist, No. 08472 departed Brownhills West for Bury on January 22 where it will have its vacuum brake equipment reinstated along with a repaint out of Wabtec black, although the East Lancashire Railway is not expected to be the shunter’s ultimate home.
Class 11 No. 12083 faces an uncertain future after its 25-year residency at the Battlefield Line came to an end on January 6 with transfer to the Great Central Railway. Acquired for spares, the shunter, which dates from 1950, is set to give up its power unit to allow No. 08907 to be repaired with indications that the rest of the loco will likely then be scrapped. No. 12083 arrived at Shackerstone in 2001 following the closure of the South Yorkshire Railway and was sold into private ownership by Harry Needle five years later. However, with little restoration work carried out, it subsequently deteriorated during two decades of open storage.
The SVR Class 14 Company has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the acquisition of Class 07 No. D2996 (07012), which is currently at Barrow Hill. Under the group’s plan, the fully operational shunter would be transferred to the Severn Valley Railway and be based at Bridgnorth alongside No. D9551 for station pilot work, providing back up to Class 08 No. D3586 (08471). The group is hoping to raise £40,000 by mid-April via the issue of shares, which will cover the acquisition, transport and upkeep of the former Southampton Docks pilot.
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This article originally appeared in Rail Express Magazine. To subscribe please visit https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/rail-express?source=digital22
