25 279
A product of Beyer Peacock 25279 ran until the very end of the type's service on British Rail (except of course the Class 25/9 sub class). A TOPS report for 24th January 1987 at 2148 hours reveals 279 on 0Z00 to Newton Heath TMD where it arrived at 0747 hours then allocated on 3J07 to 31510 and 1F54 to 36151.
Initially purchased in 1987 by Martin Bell 279 went to the Llangollen Railway where it lived with 25313. During 1997 the loco went on loan to the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway which also hosted the Class 17 Clayton at that time. From there it was off to the excellent Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway where 279 met up with another old friend from Llangollen in the form of 24081.
During the stay at the G&WR the powers that be at Llangollen saw fit to limit the amount of diesels based there which rendered 25279 rather homeless. This was not interesting as the loco had developed quite a few faults during its travels. Martin had no choice but to offer it for sale in the hope of someone buying it and restring it to running order once again. In the meantime 279 had travelled to the Northampton & Lamport Railway.
Mark Fowler, chairman of the Type 1 Loco Association stepped in and the deal was done. 25279 was on the move again to the Great Central railway in Loughborough. This took place on 26th June 2000.
Since then Mark and colleagues have put in endless hours of hard graft restoring 279 back to running order. Mark has a very informative site more than adequately covering aspects of diesel preservation not normally seen.
The hard graft culminated in 25279 making its passenger debut on the GCR on Saturday 14th July 2001. All was not well on the first run as the loco was not firing correctly. It had been rostered on an additional run at 1815, plenty of time for a swift outbreak of N/100. This was a success as the loco performed most admirably on the 1815 to Leicester.
The return run saw the turbocharger sieze (again) meaning no more than 500 amps were provided, the loco certainly sounded different anyway! The train reached Loughborough unassisted and 279 was consigned to the nearby shed allocated on 0Z00 to Rothley assigned N/a damned good battering (or N/ADGB!).
Views of the Day
(All photos by courtesy of Phill Taylor)
A welcome return to service for both 25279 and the 'Rat Roadshow on Tour' Headboard at Leicester North.
A charming study of the loco back at Loughborough after the inaugural passenger run on the GCR.
25279 prepares to work an additional return trip from Loughborough to Leicester North. Unfortunately the turbocharger gave up on the return run. Herculean efforts are afoot to rectify this as soon as possible!!
Finally a look at the headboard.
Manufactured during tea breaks in Derby locomotive works in early 1984. 25320 was used as a 'pattern' where measuring was concerned. The bracket came from a BR tail lamp which had been slightly squashed in one of the works sidings!
The board featured regularly on service trains along the Cambrian during the Summer of 1984 (apart from one weekend when it ended up in Penzance having been left on a 'Peak' hauled service!!). Underneath the Sulzer and AEI plates is '84'. The board last appeared in 1991 on the 'Sulzer Salute' railtour hauled by 25322.