Heritage Shunters Trust
See 08250 for the Bridge the Covid Chasm Appeal
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08001 @ Gateshead Depot (GD), sometime during the 70's. Please feel honoured, I don't often share my photos with the world, but there again there is no reason not to do? thought I would put this one on as you don't often see phots of it, anyway enjoy!! In the good old days when you took loads of shots and didn't know for probably a couple of weeks whether your shots had worked out or not. Digital cameras are great, now all the best locos/depots etc have gone, but thats life..............!!
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08003 At St Rollox, Glasgow circa 1978 the loco had been withdrawn from Darlington.
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08006 Darlington depot yard
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08004 at Thornaby (TE) circa 1985, Don't know why but just had a gut feeling the 08'0's were going to get slaughtered, and they did, I photographed them whenever I could!
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08008 Frodingham Depot
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08009 Swindon Works
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08011 Swindon Works
08014 Toton Yard
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08015, circa 1979. Tinsley Depot, (TI) What a depot, and how I miss it! Happily the loco can now be found at the Severn Valley Rly.
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08016 Newton Heath (NH) Now proudly owned by the Heritage Shunters Trust!
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08018 Sorry my best guess is Toton, circa 1978 but if you know better please let me know!
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08019, Toton again? about the same period
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08021 Toton yet again
3024 (08017) Doncaster Works 11/08/74 As the loco was cut up less than 3 months after this photo was taken, it's a foregone conclusion that it never carried its 08 number. The English Electric Engine and no doubt a wheelset with a good traction motor have been removed, as part of the component recovery program. Notice that the number is not preceded by a "D", which was another idea dreamt up but not drawn to a conclusion, as there were still some locos carrying a "D"! A Midland Region Loco for all of its working life, its last shed was Newton Heath, Manchester, where it had been withdrawn over a year before the above date. As with 3053 it was cut up at Doncaster on 27/10/74. Apologies for the photo of 08018 being above so out of number order with this shot.
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08022 Tinsley (TI) didn't we have some brilliant 08's?
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08023 early 80's at Chester Station.
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08024 at Sheffield Midland station, probably in the late seventies. This was of course a Tinsley (TI) allocated shunter at the time. Sheaf House in the left background, which was BR headquarters for the Sheffield area, and probably beyond has, now also been consigned to history, after all we have to make room for more tin sheds, sorry retail parks.
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08026 on Swindon Dump in the early Eighties. This had been a Cambridge allocated loco, it was to linger at Swindon works for 4 years before being finally cut up in April 86. I was so keen to phot the shunters here that I would leave work on the Wednesday? morning, at 6.00am after the night shift. Get a train to Birmingham, and after another change arrive in time to go round with the party, at the Works, then straight back to Sheffield, for work on Wednesday evening at 19.30!! I did this every other week for months!!
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08027 Toton circa late70's
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08028 Etches Park, Derby, 1981. It looks as though the glass in the drop light is held together with tape, by this stage, probably enough of a reason to condemn it !!
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08030 Sorry going to take a pure guess and say when it had arrived at Swindon in the early 80's, for it's ultimate demise, unless you know better?
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08031 "Rod less" at Eastleigh, just been withdrawn Dec 1980, and ready to be dragged off to Swindon for scrap. Once there, reprieved and reinstated to Doncaster where it met it's final end in 1988.
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08033 Tinsley Traction Depot Yd. A Tinsley stalwart .
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08036 Willesden Shed yard. Circa 1980.
08035 Ebbw Junction, circa 1977
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08037 Burton Yard, circa late 70's.
Another one of 08036, I just had to put in, not much left after component recovery!! Swindon dump .
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08041 Bescot Shed Yard, ready for her date with destiny.(Sorry this ones out of number order ,now the two have been inserted below.)
D3052 (08039) Willesden Depot, North London ,02/06/72 For the eagle eyed amongst you, may realise that i have only just put this one in. At the time I always thought there was something special about this and have just realised why! It's in Black livery, it never made it into green or blue for that matter. With cycling lion crest that can be seen on the middle engine room door, and look at the size of the "D" on the number, I believe this was a very early practice? Anyway it was all in vain, as the end came at Cashmores, Newport, S.Wales in Sept 74, without the number 08039 being taken up.
D3053 (08040) Doncaster Works Yard 11/08/74 Okay, how was I to know that 84001 would be preserved and the 08 didn't? Only joking of course, and apologies for it not being a full loco shot but it does help with making the list more complete. This was an NCTS Doncaster and Derby trip, and I did seem to go on most of the trips, In fairness you couldn't keep me away! every other week a coach trip to some exotic place such as Carlisle and Newcastle and all the stabling points in between. I miss the Northern Counties Transport Society, to give it its full name, and the camaraderie that went with it, as much as the loco scene back then. The loco was cut up less than 3 months after this on 27/10/74 in Donny Works. Somewhat obviously it never carried the 08 number!
08042 York shed(Now the NRM), Circa 1977
08045 Those tyres must mean by how thin they are, that the loco is now confined to Toton depot .
08046, now at the Brechin Rly, with my mate Kenny Joy. Seen here at Burton.
Two views taken on the same day in August 1982,of 08051 ,when it was allegedly in "store" at Tinsley.I had to cross check this one with Roger Harris's tome, as I always remember it as a Wath engine, which indeed it was, spending most of its working life there, but scrapped at Swindon in 1985 .
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08052, Cambridge Depot (CA), circa 1975. The loco was eventually sold to Thomas Hill's, but then deemed unfit to be moved to their premises at Kilnhurst, so was cut up on the spot at March depot by staff of CF Booths, On
26/0182.
08054 Gateshead Depot (GD) circa 1976. It soldiered on till Febuary 1980, when it was withdrawn, but luckily sold onto Swinden Limeworks at Grassington, North Yorks, before entering preservation at the Yorkshire Dales Railway at Bolton Abbey.
08055,Crewe Diesel Depot(CD) circa 1972 and also seen at Swindon Works in 1983,pending oblivion!
08056 Knottingley depot yard(KY) 1979.
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08059,seen on an usually sunny day at Thornaby Depot (TE) in 1973.The now demolished roundhouse is to the left front of the loco.What a brilliant depot to visit in the 70's !! Cut up at Swindon works,March 1985.
08058 taken while it was allocated to Gateshead (GD), can't just remember which stabling point, does anyone know please? circa 1974.
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08060 at Lincoln Depot(LN) on the headshunt in 1973.Sold to Guiness (the brewers)and now at the Cholsley and Wallingford Railway.
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08061 Doncaster Carr depot (DR) 1973.Cut Swindon Wks April 1985.
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08062 York depot (YK),now of course the NRM.Cut Donny Plant March 1985.
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08063 and it can only be Darlington depot yard circa 1976 cut (via Gloucester!!)at Donny works April 1985.
08064 Knottingley Depot yard(KY)) ,May 1980.I soon dispensed with putting the dates on photos via the new innovation on the camera of the time!
Now a pilot for the NRM after being withdrawn from York depot.
08065 Doncaster Depot (DR), stored and awaiting a conversion to snowplough No.ADB968018, April 1978, which never actually took place. Instead it was moved the short distance to the Plant, and scrapped in November of the same year. Of particular note is the short lived "renumbering on the loco, by applying a stripe of BR blue paint under the cab window and then applying the new vinyl numbers. Someone has also stencilled the shedcode 50B under the window, which should have been Immingham 40B.
08066, in all its glory!!, again with the blue stripe conversion to renumber it. (It's still in green livery as is evident by the lion and wheel transfer on the middle engine room door. Stored at Doncaster Carr depot (DR) for conversion to an independent snowplough (ADB968019), which again never happened, and it was unceremoniously dragged off to Donny Works and scrapped November 78.
Notice also the coach ends which are Gresley teak Departmental coaches.
08067,My guess is TyselyDepot(TY),probably late 70's.Anyway this is the loco that lost its number and became "Tysely1",and confined to shunting on the Depot.Cut at Swindon by November 1986,its prolonged stay of execution due no doubt to it being the depot shunter.
08068 Crewe Station pilot on the maze of tracks just south of the platforms. Taken on an "overnighter", around 2.00am, as a time exposure using a tripod. The date around summer 1979. I had travelled there by car (my first a mk3 Cortina--what a car!), with friends as I often did on an overnight coaching stockbash, spending the Friday night here, then Birmingham New St for the day, for the holiday excursions!! This one rates as one of my all time favourite 08 shots. And YES , I would do it all again starting tomorrow, but more if that was possible.
Two views of 08069, both taken I think at Chester depot circa 1973, on two separate occasions. This ventured North to Carlisle Kingmoor, before storage at Dumfries and then returning to Donny Plant in December 83, for its appointment with the grim reaper.
08070 Chester depot (CH), circa 1977. Withdrawn in December 1979, it was transferred to departmental use in conjunction with the clydesrail electrification scheme and allotted the number 97802, but it never got to carry this and was cut up at St Rollox works, Glasgow in 1980.
08071 Doncaster Works Openday 18/06/78 fortunately for me this openday coincided (unknowingly), with the recent withdrawal of the above with accident damage. In times gone by this would have been a very easy repair (See back right hand window), but by this date it meant that within a month this workhorse would just be a memory. Withdrawn from Darlington DN ,in Febuary 78, it had been shorn of coupling rods to be dragged down, probably in a freight consist to meet its end. As with many other locos, you may look back and reflect on with the minimal of work necessary to bring it back up to spec what a preservation candidate this would have made.
08074 Polmadie (PO)Depot Yard, I must have been really disciplined taking these early 08's, as just to my right were three of my favourite class of main line loco awaiting their turn for breaking, but more of that below. This 08's last depot had been SP, Springs Branch, Wigan before been towed North to Glasgow, for component recovery use. It stayed there a year, been slowly stripped until unbelievably it was towed South again to Derby Works for scrapping!! (What in that condition???!!) The final end came for it in June 1977, after it had lingered at Derby for almost two years. For a real treat see below:
D8504 & others Polmadie, Glasgow on the same date I photographed 08074 above, 9/3/75. Apologies for inserting this one in but it was the follow on shot from the 08 shot above and seem too good to overlook! What a waste, and what a fantastic design, a little more patience and I am convinced BR could have sorted these and given them a 30+ year life expectancy, instead of being thrown away while nearly new. We had a later batch of these allocated to Barrow Hill, I thought they would be there forever, but in no time at all they followed their classmates to Scotland and an early withdrawal.
08075 Worksop stabling point 27/1/80, on a day trip out to the East Midlands. It's not until I start browsing through my notebooks that I realise what a broad scope we had for different trips. Allocated to Shirebrook at the time, this would be its last allocation before its call to Swindon Works where it was broken up 29/4/82. A very sobering thought: Almost 35 years ago to the week from when i am transcribing this text!!!
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08076 Immingham Depot (IM) circa 1978 For a short time a Tinsley engine, then moving to the North East before returning to Imminham via Doncaster. Another one that disappeared in the great cull at Swindon works after some half wit decided they had to be withdrawn because of their vacuum only, brake status. Studying the bodywork on this one, there isn't a bump, dink or slightest dent! ,and look at the tyres!! Cut up by 29/4/82.
08077 Cambridge Depot (CA) 6/11/77 In store accompanied by 03008 & 08495.Sold about a year later to Wiggins Teape paper mill at Fort William,and stayed here for about 20 years before moving back to RFS West Yorks and subsequently sold on to Freightliner in December 1996.Sent to LH plant for repair sometime later ,it was finally scrapped there in May 2014.
08078 Birkenhead Shed (BC), 26/02/78. Another Birkenhead workhorse, with its final allocation being Carlisle Kingmoor. Not very well up on these things, but maybe that's Cammel Laird the shipbuiders in the right background? Birkenhead was another great shed, I revisited after a thirty + year gap, without a shed directory, not a good idea because if I recall properly the access road to it finished in a mound of earth with Buddleia prospering on top of it, and nothing significant behind it. Fortunately about half a mile away an excellent tram museum has been established, and they run trams down to the pier on operating days (usually weekends, where there is a genuine u-boat on display), It worries me that I know all this trivia without using any reference, however forget my shopping list and I'm stuck for what I should be buying!!
08079 Chester Station, 20/11/83, this was withdrawn exactly a fortnight after this shot ,on 04/12/83, so definitely in this view its swansong!! Eventually sent to Swindon Works where it was broken up by June 1986.
08080 Crewe diesel depot (CD) to the south of the shed, circa 1975. A longtime Midland region 08, its last twelve years were at Crewe before it got the call to Swindon Works for its day of reckoning, which was sometime in May 1981. This shed by the way and associated shed yards, came very close to demolition by EWS, and had it not been for Jeremy Hoskins choosing to relocate his main railway business there, this too would have been consigned to history.
08082 Bletchley Depot(BY) Bletchley never had a large allocation of diesel shunters, but anybody who was in the know back then would tell you they were hard to spot. The main reason for this being, that usually out of their small allocation, three could be found in Wolverton Railway Works, the home of the erstwhile Royal Train. Even in those days there was a security consciousness about the place, and it wasn't easy to get into, and out without a permit. (Or so I am told!!), admit to nothing that's the best way!!, Ahem!, anyway this 08 was for most of its life a Midland Region loco, withdrawn from Bletchley where it spent its longest period at one depot, on 2/11/80 and being cut up at Swindon Works (Where else at this time?), on or by December 1982.
08083 Bescot Depot yard circa 1976.Another long term Midland Region engine ,and another to join the great cull at Swindon Works ,being cut up in Febuary 1985.I would guess that this lasted longer than most of its none dual braked counterparts as there was a huge requirement for shunting locos at Bescot.Bear in mind if you would that these machines were being withdrawn for the slightest fault just to get rid of them!Whoever made these decisions on the "Railway" ,ought to have been brought to account for the unimanageble amount of wastage brought about by inept policies.
08084 Newton Heath, Manchester (NH) circa 1975, quite a big allocation here at the time that served North Manchester, right down to Victoria Station. A favourite stabling point for me, was Redbank carriage sidings just to the north of Victoria, where a Newton Heath 08 could usually be found. Withdrawn from Newton Heath in November 1981 and cut up at Swindon Works in December 1982.
08085 Tyne Yard, circa early 80's. A Gateshead (GD) Newcastle, allocated loco. After being declared surplus to requirement being vacuum only, it had a spell at Monkton Coking Plant near Hebburn. Later sold to RFS in July 1988, some dismantling (Presumably for spare parts), took place until the remains were removed by road to Booths at Rotherham, where it was finally scrapped in April 1993.
08087 circa 1978 Newcastle area. Allocated to Gateshead (GD) A Western/Midland Region loco for most of its life, It got transfered away to Stratford and then its final depot Gateshead before withdrawal and eventually sent for scrap at Swindon Works in May 1980.
08088 circa 1980 Crewe Diesel depot Yard (CD) It spent the last sixteen years of its life at Crewe, before being withdrawn and sent to Swindon Works to be scrapped in late 1986.
08090 This can only be Lincoln diesel depot(LN) I don't know for sure but would guess this has all been landscaped back to scenery? I stood on the Pelham bridge recently and as of course with everything else it's changing. A huge area has been demolished and a bus station /interchange is being built near to the station. This one fell victim to accident damage, and was cut up by the end of 1978. Interesting to note its cab was removed and used to repair 08858. Update ; Apart from the track and pits this shed is very much the same in the year 2020,but these days, rows of Stagecoach Buses are present in the shed(sorry garage) and its their main garage in lincoln now.So sort of a happy ending ,especially if you are a Stagecoach bus spotter!
08091 Doncaster Works with its condition obviously awaiting its date with destiny which came towards the end of 1983. It's on the correct siding to be shunted down a short way into the cutting area. In 1977 ish I was interviewed and got a job doing skilled machining work at Donny Plant. I had always wanted to work there. I was told I would be issued with a free pass to travel daily from Sheffield to Doncaster. Some two days later i got a call at home from the District Secretary for the AUEW (Engineering union) informing me that I could take the job, but would have my skilled union card (Section 1) withdrawn. I was informed that "We are not having a skilled man taking another skilled man's job in Doncaster when Crompton Parkinson's are closing down". This was akin to having your throat cut in those days, no union card, no job. (Worth talking about anyway) I had to give back word on the job and turn it down. In these days of zero hour contracts and no workers rights to speak of, the above sounds unbelievable but it's quite true.
08092 Kings Lynn Station sidings, 29/05/77. Taken on an overnight Northern Counties, East Anglia spotting trip, and thanks to Pete Hall, a very good and longstanding friend for reminding me, Thanks Pete!!
08093 Swindon Works sometime late in 1981, and component recovery has begun. No doubt after the batteries have been removed for safety and or re use, the wheelsets are also now missing probably put under another 08 as a set, and demic ones put under the leading and trailing positions for its last journey "round the corner", to the cutting area after any other bits required have been removed. After saying that i would imagine by this date with the amount of scrappage already taken place they would be full to the gunnels with recycled spare parts from all the other 08's that have gone before!!
08095 March Depot (MR) On a Northern Counties overnight Midlands trip, August 1979. (Amazingly looking back, we usually managed to see 850 locos on this trip in less than 24 hours!!). It was withdrawn here in February 1983, but remained in use after this date. Later put into storage here, before making its final trip to Swindon Works, 27/03/85 and finally broken up by September 1986.
08096 I don't think it's withdrawn on this photo, it looks as though it's in transit for repairs or maybe returning (The coupling rods are in the cab), and the location looks like Stratford or may be one of the other East London stabling points e.g Temple mills or Ripple Lane? It's the multi storey flats in the background that are throwing me. If you can come up with a better guess please let me know. The loco was a long term March engine, but ended its days withdrawn from York depot (YK) on 9/9/84 and was cut up at Donny Works within 6 months.
08097 March Depot(MR) circa 1978. Still plodding on at this time, it would be transferred away to Cambridge (Just down the road!), then finally Healey Mills for a very short 3 months before arriving at Swindon Works in May 1981 and being broke up within a few days. Notice the ubiquitous Viva? van, to the right of the loco, which were such a common sight on the Railway in this period. Also one of British Leyland's finest a Marina Saloon (Well anything was better than the Allegro!!). I know I abandoned mine at my Auntie's in law ,and Chesterfield Corporation towed it away for scrap (Thank goodness!!)
08098 Healey Mills marshalling yard.
08099 Doncaster Works reception sidings (adjacent to the Station) Taken in September 1983, after arriving for "Processing". It had been stored at Hull Botanic Gardens shed for exactly 12 months prior to this, and on closer inspection of the shot, those tyres look mighty thin!, so presumably as it was withdrawn in September 1982, it would have been far too late in the withdrawal program to start thinking about re-tyring a vacuum only 08. A mammoth job in anybody's book, but let me try to give an insight; Detach all traction motor cables, and remove coupling rods. Jack loco up after removing axle keep plates, and after removing securing brackets and packing under traction motors so they don't swing free. IF overhead crane available (It would have been in the Railway Works) lift body off. Detach traction motors from the axles, and subsequently machine old tyres off wheel sets. Machine new tyres slightly smaller on inside dias, heat up and sweat on to existing wheelsets. Put wheel sets in a lathe .and machine correct profiles on wheelsets (One at a time!). Ensure all profiles and outside diameter measurements are all exactly the same for all three wheelsets. Reverse all procedures as above to reinstall under loco. That's a very simplified account also the checking of crank pins, horn guides, stay plates, axle lubrication pads, axle bearings and other parts, would all be checked for damage or wear, and refurbished or replaced as necessary. You have probably concluded from this very simplified account ,why it was so much easier just to write it off at this stage of its life!!
08100 March Depot ,circa 1981,this 08 had a short stay here,before moving to storage in Cambridge Station yard and eventual scrapping at Donny works ,by 02/03/85.
08101 Lincoln Depot yard(LN) ,probably around 1979.The loco would remain here for the rest of its working life until broken up at Donny Plant,by Dec1984.
08102 Shunting the reception sidings at Doncaster Works in 1977. Withdrawn in March 1988, Stored at Boston, it was then sold on to Lincoln City Council for preservation. It was actually restored at Doncaster Works in green livery as D3167, and after a spell plinthed at Lincoln Station, was transfered to the Linconshire Wolds Railway, where it can still be seen in this guise. Not only this but it is also still carrying out sterling work for the Heritage Railway, so a Big Thank you!, Lincoln City Council for having the forethought to save this and PWM 650 as well. It's a crying shame that Sheffield City Council didn't follow their lead and preserve one of the named, iconic Tinsley 08's, which had really nice appropriate red names painted on the engine room doors by my good friend Phil Hodgkiss, a Tinsley fitter who carried out the work. But more of that a lot later.
08103 Stands at Saltley (SY) on the holding siding in 1973. It was only at Saltley for a couple of years, and in this time got hired for a period to Coventry Colliery. It had quite a lengthy spell at Derby after this, before succumbing to the cutters torch at Swindon by May 1986.
08105 Doncaster Works Scrapping Area.(Down behind the main erecting shop),and we are ready for the final curtain call.For all those who have got the idea I only took b&w phots ,no I wasted loads of money ,on loads of under exposed slides as well!,as did my partner in crime Mr H.C.Needle who often accompanied me,on these forays. This is early August in 1984 ,and boy had they managed to rip through the 08's!Notice the 03 cab in the background being used as a workmens bothy for the burners.Of course the advantage of this was when the workmen got tired of it ,burn it up and hopefully find a better replacement.Its a colour shot as I havent a b&w of it ,very remiss!
08106 Carlisle Kingmoor Diesel depot(KD), which is now the Head Quarters, for DRS. It departed Carlisle in march 1982, after after a short spell in store at Gloucester, it made its final journey to Swindon Works, where it was broken up by January 1983.
08108 ,Cambridge (CA),1977.Another one that escaped the cutters torch.Withdrawn from Cambridge in 1984 ,it was sold to Dower Wood &Co Ltd ,(Who I believe were a logistics Company).It has since changed hands again ,and can now be seen at the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
08109 at Old Oak Common(OC), North West London,1976. On one of the turntable roads at the Iconic Old Oak turntable, where many photos of Westerns, Warships and Hymeks have been taken. Transferred West to Cardiff(CF), then West again to Swansea Landore(LE), this was as far as it got before being summoned back to Swindon works to be cut up in late 1981. In April 2017, the turntable here is long gone, and long straight sidings have taken its place, unoccupied but waiting for the new, Cross Rail Trains which will once again make this a working Depot as this will be the main servicing centre. P.S.Step back 30 metres from this view and this was the spot I lived in a small caravan on weekdays circa 2008, while working for a "Notorious "Loco Dealer!! (Very Happy Days!!)
08110 Landore Depot(LE) Swansea,1979. The tyres on this must set a new record. If you look very closely you should be able to see that the thickness of the actual tyre, is no more than 1"!! . Anyway by this point, it really didn't matter as the loco was on a one way holiday to "oblivion", in March of 1980 at Swindon Works. What's difficult to comprehend is that this most probably made the trip by rail, being hauled down the mainline, through South Wales, direct to Swindon works, with those tyres!!?? The reason I could tell immediately that this had previously been an LM region loco, is the small "Flying arrow" under the number which as memory recalls was pretty exclusive to the LM region, unless you know better?
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D3177(08111) Wigan PW yard 28/07/71. Withdrawn in Dec 77 From Gloucester, as after it had left Wigan it spent some time on the Western region. It was sent to Doncaster works to be converted into an un-powered snowplough, taking the number ADB966512 which was amended shortly after to ADB968012, and allocated to Frodingham(FH) which was at Scunthorpe. It didn't last long in this role before it was sent back to Donny works and cut up in April 1979. There is a further description of this photo and scene in the "Photo Pot pourri" section.
08112 ,Seen in early 1984 after joining the mass cull of early 08's at Swindon Dump.It donated its cab to fellow 08 ,08948 in March 1984 ,and by the next month cutting was complete and it was just another memory.
08113 Seen at St Blazey Depot(BZ), circa 1977 while allocated there. It had a further move to Cardiff, before withdrawal in March 84 and was sold into private industry use ,going to Powell Duffryn fuels at Ammanford, South Wales. It was then sold onto a loco Hire company RMS Locotec at Dewsbury, in June 1996.
08114 Doncaster, woodyard, adjacent to the recently demolished Doncaster Depot(DR) , circa 1978. This is a night shot set as a time exposure on a tripod for steadiness, very hit and miss in the days of conventional SLR cameras. Fortunately there was some illumination on this side probably coming from the floodlights, which picked out the detail on the side of the loco. Another one that was saved for preservation, and after various heritage homes is now at the Nottingham Heritage Centre, Ruddington.
08115 shunting parcel vans back into Doncaster Station, circa 1980. Allocated to Doncaster(DR), and withdrawn in July 1984, it made the very short trip to Donny works to be cut up in November 1985.
08116 Waiting for the Grand Finale on the Donny Works scrapline, sometime around early 1983. Accompanying her to her date with destiny, is a slighter larger loco as seen in the accompanying shot below, that I thought I would insert for the record. So being a Shunter fan, it's a Celebrity shunter meeting its end with a nondescript Deltic, (I might have to go into hiding for that one!!) Yet again by the look of it another one probably withdrawn due to the tyre thicknesses. She had been a Gateshead loco (GD) for the latter part of her working life, which included a loan spell at Whittle Colliery, Northumberland for a time.
Okay don't blame me, yes it's a Deltic, but the celebrity machine behind it is 08116. I think as preservation is today, had the Deltics been withdrawn now, probably everyone of them would have been preserved, but at least I would like to think they would have. To me its quite sad seeing a restored Deltic cab been displayed on a mobile road trailer.
3184 (08117) Wigan ,Springs Branch, (SP) 28/07/71( passing on the train) ,has a chequered history as mentioned below ,but not forever as within 8 years consigned to history,but not before it had been renumbered another three times!!
(08117) ADB968010 Tinsley Depot (TI) Sept 78. What a long winded number, to bestow on a humble snow plough, and a one direction, snow plough at that!! (No, nothing to do with the boy band), I bet the poor soul who had to try to squeeze the number on was cursing under his breath!, anyway another total waste of time and money, which was cut up at Donny Works in March 1979.
08118 Landore (LE) ?? Withdrawn by March 1980 ,and followed the inevitable path to Swindon Works where it was cut up by August of the same year.
(08119) Donny Works Scrap site, January 1980. Part of the ill fated Snowplough conversion scheme, that only lasted about 3 years. By this time the loco had been converted to an un-powered snow plough and renumbered ADB 968011. It had been a Western region loco for most of its working life but after the snowplough conversion also done at Donny Works it was allocated to Wath. It was all in vain as the end had come by February 1980. Notice if you will, the plethora of reclaimed traction motors and the 08 wheelsets hopefully awaiting reuse, with the fuel tanks lying on the ground most probably off the last victim scrapped, a Class 37.
08120 Hartlepool circa 1979.After starting life as a Western Region loco,it moved North to the Liverpool area ,then North again to Darlington (DN) ,where its useful life came to an end in October 1981.It was then put into storage,and eventually made its way to Swindon Works ,being cut up by August 1982.
08121 Willesden Depot (WN) Circa 1978. Just another day in North London. Taken as I recall while partaking of an all line Railrover, which would have been spring or summer , cos that's when I got the time off from the sweatshop! Can you imagine casually turning up here now, and having a wander round, photographing at will next to the busy running lines, without a permit or the foreman saying "I haven't seen you"? Of course nothing like this would happen now as you would have to first negotiate the eight foot palisade fence, avoid the all intrusive security cameras, go through a three day "induction", have PTS, sign a disclaimer stating you were not part of the compensation culture, and have written authority from at least "her Madge" to even dare go near the fence!! Some wag had added the sticker which just fitted very neatly under the number ,and seemed to be on the loco for a good while, and just look at those tyres, it no doubt confined it to the depot boundaries, while its stay was in North London. Transferred to Toton in November 1980, and arriving at Swindon Works by December 1984, it had been broken up by October 1985.
08123 sent to Swindon Works for scrap in 1985, a last minute reprieve saw it sold to the Cholsley and Wallingford Railway where it was named in October 1985 ,"George Mason" at Wallingford station. I have happy memories of seeing this innumerable times in different locations at Crewe, and glad to be able to report it as preserved. (Seen here while on shunting duties at Crewe Works, but allocated to Crewe Shed(CD).
08124 Bescot Depot Yard (BS) circa 1975. Within 12 months of this photo the loco would be transferred away to the Eastern Region, firstly to Doncaster and then on to Norwich ,and finally withdrawn in June 1981, and cut up at Swindon Works by February 1982.
08125 Crewe Works, July 1980. At this time allocated to Crewe (CD). The loco was scrapped at Swindon Works, the Nemisis of 08 shunters some four years later.
08126 ended its working life at Springs Branch ,Wigan (SP), but as there is an 03 behind it I'm guessing this was a previous shed, Chester(CH) circa 1974. The end came inevitably at Swindon Works in 1981.
08127 Sorry about the quality of the shot. Even after my primitive attempts at "photo shopping it", it's poor but it's the only one I have of it. Taken in the early 70's, it looks like Hartlepool and was most probably allocated to Gateshead, Newcastle (GD), at the time , or maybe Eastern Region Operating Stock?, but anyway the end came after a long trip South at Swindon works where it was finally cut up by December 1980.
08128, Worksop circa 1975, outstationed from Shirebrook(SB). This also made the trip to Swindon Works, to meet its end in Febuary 1984.
08129 Newton Heath, Manchester (NH), circa 1975 Looks as though it's on depot pilot duties which basically consisted of dragging DMU's about, which abounded at Newton Heath then. The shunter made a relatively short trip in March 1984 to Donny works, or "The Plant" as it was more commonly called, and was cut up shortly after.
08130 , seen in the summer of 1984, at Swindon Works Dump, which was basically some holding sidings tucked away, near the back of the Works and was used to store locos until they were cut up , sometimes after component recovery had taken place. Scrapped in March 1985. It started it's life in Scotland in December 1955, and was to stay there for a furthur 11 years until migrating South to the Liverpool area before joining the allocation at Allerton(AN), Liverpool for the second time, which would be its last shed before withdrawl. Allerton was very near the boyhood homes, of John Lennon and Paul Mcartney, wonder if they ever spotted the 08's there?
08130 again at Swindon Works. The "metal moths" have been attacking it'!l have added this one for a bit more interest. Initially i thought the burners had taken the back half of the cab off to probably graft on to one that had a rear end heavy shunt. I then realised that's not the story at all, it's to recover the drivers desk, which has already been done. If you took the number off the loco it would become very hard to recognise it as an 08. They have chose to cut the cab halfway as they have cleverly cut round the cab roof where the front of the cab door opening is, so minimising the arduous effort of vertical burning up the sides. This would be around about the end of April 1985, I am guessing when this one disappeared into manageable chunks and oblivion.
08131 Thornaby? Shed Yard (TE) in probably one of its last winters circa 1978, while allocated to the Eastern Region Operating stock, which basically meant it could be seconded to any Depot on the Eastern Region where it was required. Cut up at Swindon Works in the Spring of 1981.
08132 Crewe Diesel Depot circa 1978, when Crewe was "47 Heaven", it looks as though its a very overcast day or late afternoon as the electric arc lights are burning brightly in the shed. Now (as mentioned before), part of Jeremy Hoskin's empire, and his main restoration base for his mainly mainline steam locomotive fleet. Oh if he only wanted to adopt our Trust!! Probably heading for Swindon Works, but by mistake sent to Gloucester then Worcester only to finish its days at Birds of Long Marston, where it was cut up late July 1988.
08133 ,One of my favourite 08's, After finishing its life with BR, it was plucked from the Swindon Works scrapline to enter Industrial service, after being sold to Sheerness Iron and Steel. This photo depicts it still in service with BR, although it was allocated to Lincoln for a long time, it always seemed to be out stationed at Spalding. Still "with us", originally saved for preservation at the South Yorkshire Railway's base at Meadowhall, Sheffield, our former home, and initially purchased by the late Trevor Dean. Now masquerading at its new "posh" home as D3201, in green livery, and allocated to Kidderminster Diesel Depot on the superb Severn Valley Railway. (A Great Result!!)
08134 Saltley Depot, Birmingham (SY) You could nearly always guarantee a healthy line up of about 8 x 08's lined up on this siding at weekends on the Depot, but probably very few mid week. This one arrived at Swindon Works in March 1983 and lasted 3 years and 9 months before finally being cut up. How can you get nostalgic about 50 tons of scrap metal? Well you definitely can !!, just ask any true dyed in the blood railway enthusiast.
08135 Swindon Works. What illustrious company to go into the scrap bin with! Apologies for it not being a full photograph of 135, my file says I have a complete one of it, but it's not where it's supposed to be and I haven't got enough life left in me to look through the other 19,999 for it !! It's an interesting shot anyway and could be argued a little bit different. This is Spring 1979 and by July the cab would join the loco as just another memory. The loco was new in December 1958 and would spend all but three of its working years on the Scottish Region at various depots ,before making the long journey to Ebbw Junction in South Wales, then put into storage at Gloucester and onwards to oblivion at Swindon Works, in July 1979. Notice if you will, part of the main frames of the loco, still attached under the cab.
08136 Doncaster Works, circa 1978 while allocated to Doncaster shed (DR). This would be acting as the Works pilot and looks as though it's in the process of bringing in from the reception sidings adjacent to the station another 08, or is it possibly shunting it out? We may never know. It "escaped " to York in September 1982, only to be returned to Doncaster Works and cut up there in December 1984.
08137 Lincoln Depot Yard (LN) circa 1979. Another one that started its life in Scotland, and migrated South to Lincoln and then finally Doncaster, where it made the very short trip to the works, where it was cut up in September 1985.
08139 March Depot(MR) circa 1978, If you look very carefully there's a fitter working adjacent to the rear wheel set, and a guy with a smock on can be seen near the front buffer beam. Yet another from the batch that originated in Scotland, this migrated in 1969 to March and was withdrawn from there in September 1980. Cut up in April 1982 at Swindon Works .
08141 Barrow hill Roundhouse (BH) circa 1978, another personal favourite which seemed to have been around forever. Tthis was one of the Tinsley ones and was then named "Manvers", It avoided the grim reaper until September 1994 when it was cut up by Booth- Roe at Rotherham .
08142 Bescot, or could I be wrong? I think it was on its way to Swindon where it had disappeared by March 1987. Well off its own turf, it had a spell on hire at Hickleton Colliery and stored at Healey Mills, until it was sent on its long journey South to oblivion.
08144 St Rollox Works, and definitely not ready for action!! August 1979, it only lingered here a very short time before being cut up by the 6th of October 79. It was always a Scottish loco and a long term resident of Ayr, the depot it was finally withdrawn from. Of course along with the loco, Ayr depot (AY), is now just a distant memory, swept away with the improved Railway and Privatisation.
08145 St Rollox Works (ZH) 24/06/78 on a Northern Counties ,overnight Glasgow and Ayr Trip.Setting off from Manchester on Saturday night around 20.00, we travelled up by coach to Glasgow via Workington to visit all the Glasgow Depots and stabling points and Carlisle on the way back for good measure, before arriving back at Manchester Victoria, dropping off at about 19.30 Sunday Night! Although the road infrastructure has been improved greatly, so has the volume of traffic and I would suggest that even if there was some reason to go, you would be hard pressed to do the same today in the time period, and the "Ministry" would have a meltdown with the amount of hours the drivers accumulated, Or on very rare occasions, just a single coach driver! (The loco had been cut up here less than 2 months later)
08146 Swindon Works, March 1981, the loco only spent four months at the Works so its debatable whether it made it to the "Dump", at the back of the works or whether it lingered around the front, where its pictured for the 4 months before being cut up in May 81. This had made its way from Doncaster, so no doubt Donny works was busy with other things or as seem to remember the component recovery/cutting was by this time concentrated at Swindon, maybe due to lack of other work. Looking at the weather on this shot, I should have elected for a waterproof camera, but intuition told me you would never get the shot again.
08147 Originally a Scottish Region loco until the early 70's when it migrated South to Gateshead (GD). It went on loan to Whittle Colliery, Northumberland for an extended period in the early 70's. This is a later shot, and I am guessing it is an NCB location coming up to the time it was withdrawn or after it had been put into store at Gateshead, which was July 1983. Putting these facts aside until more info comes to light, the loco was sent to Doncaster Works in October 1984, and yet again was just another memory after cutting took place in December.
08148 allocated to Gateshead (GD), Newcastle. On hire to the NCB at Derwenhaugh shortly before the miners strike. Intuition told me that the NCB was going to change drastically forever. This prompted me to go from Sheffield in a works holiday, and visit all the collieries and coking plants, (plus BR locations of course), in Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. This was all achieved on my Honda 90!!! (YES YOU HAVE READ THIS CORRECTLY!) I stayed in Youth hostels, notably Newcastle for an extended period and visited every location still extant, going as far North as Whittle Colliery (Beautifully kept Class 10's), which was not far from the Scottish border!! The fuel bill for the week for the bike was £13.00. I still have the Honda 90, and as I write this, I am recommissioning it for the road, to show it, and almost certainly never ride it as far again as that ! Getting back to the 08, hiring the loco to the NCB, apparently negated the fact that the tyres were almost none existent, and it was quickly sent to Donny Works for the inevitable end when it came back off hire, and was cut up in September 1984.
08149 Just another 50 tons of scrap, on the Swindon works "Dump", spring 1983. A long time Southern Region allocated loco, it moved North to Crewe then Derby, before heading South again to Bristol. Its next move was to Swindon. It left Swindon and was moved to Derby works for storage, Presumably for component recovery as it moved there in April 1981 and was withdrawn again virtually after arrival. A trip back to Swindon in March 82 spelt the end, which came in February 1984 at Swindon Works.
08150 in Tees Yard, adjacent to Thornaby TMD (TE). The loco was a long time Southern loco from new to Selhurst (75C) and a succession of other Southern sheds, until it was transferred away to Thornaby in August 1981. I suspect the end came for it probably due to shifted cranks, as the coupling rods have been removed. The Westslack, brake adjusters have been removed leaving some of the remaining rodding hanging free, which would have to be secured or more probably removed to make the loco fit to travel. The Westslack adjusters are prone to seizing up on the internal screw mechanism due to difficulties lubricating them, so would have been removed to fit to another shunter. Incidentally the 14's are fitted with very similar adjusters, also prone to seizing up if not properly maintained! Not long after this shot was taken the loco made its final trip to Swindon, by rail, to be dismantled by September 1986.
If you are enjoying these 08 shots and the narrative,please show your appreciation by joining Heritage Shunters Trust as a member .Its only £15 per year and you will receive a full colour ,A5 size magazine through the post,at least three times a year ,and be supporting a very worthwhile cause,and the best collection of BR shunters in the Country!
08151 Eastleigh Shed Yard circa 1978 at its home depot ,at the head of a row of the ubiquitos and much travelled class 47's.This 08 moved the very short distance,literally across the road ,after being withdrawn from Eastleigh shed and cut up in Eastleigh Works (ZG),and had disappeared completely by May of 1980.As it had not been sent to Swindon as was by then the norm for processing ,its reasonable to assume it had gone to the adjacent Works for component recovery ,probably to help keep the local allocation of 08's running.
08152 Eastleigh Shed (EH), which was usually rather gloomy,circa 1978. The loco had always been,and would be a Southern based 08 ,until sent on its extended vacation to Swindon works for cutting in November 1980.
08153 Chester shed yard (CH) ,circa 1975.Its last allocation before being sent to Swindon works to join the mass cull,it lingered here for over two years before the end came in December 1986.
08154 (D3222),and this could only be the very cramped conditions that were Stewarts Lane(SL).A Southern Region loco for all of its 25 year life ,and always based in the central Southern section.It was sent to Swindon Works(ZL) in December 1979 ,and was just a memory by March 1980.(Thanks for the correction to Alan Paterson)
08155 Swindon Works (ZL) Summer 1979.The end looks near.Missing from the loco are; coupling rods,rear brass window frames and windows,rear window wipers ,marker lamp fronts ,wes slack adjusters ,and no doubt more items that cant be seen from the photo.25 years of service and then literally thrown on the scrap heap.In my book most of the disposal of these is down to some half wit deciding in an office somewhere that vacuum only locos had no future,then latterly, privatisation,drastic demanning to keep profits buoyant ,and a total disregard to the future of any kind of freight expansion on our railways,akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water!! The phrase "it will eventually bite you on the bum ",springs to mind!! Now to climb off the soap box,the loco was just a memory by March of the following year.
08156 Swindon Works (ZL) Summer 1979 and as I seem to remember withdrawn and taken to Swindon with 155,see above.Looking at this apart from the missing air filter it appears complete ,in useable condition,and probably was,as the scrapping program for the vacuum brake only examples had accelerated to a frenetic level.Another Southern Region loco for the whole of its working life,mainly at Selhurst ,South London and then Ashford.Scrapped by Febuary 1980.
08157 on the Isle of Sheppey circa Summer 1987.yet another 08 that spent its working loco on the Southern Region ,and a personal favourite of mine as i have happy memories of it at Ashford.This 08 escaped the great cull of the early 80's after being purchased by Bowaters paper mill at Sittingbourne .Later it exchanged hands and became the property of Independent Sea Terminals at Ridham dock ,in whose ownership it is depicted.It was later sold to RFS at Kilnhurst ,and by May of 1996 had been sold for scrap to Coopers metals at Attercliffe ,Sheffield,where the end came in June 1996.
08158 Swindon Works .if this had been at least five years earlier ,you could have been forgiven for thinking that the strip down was for a heavy general repair,but its not its the late Summer of 1979 ,and by October it would be just another memory, as this is when final cutting took place,infact it looks to be that on the handcart in the right fore ground are the bottles of oxygen which will help to adminster the "coup de grace".Yet another Sarf london .Southern Region loco ,that nearly made it to its twenty fifth Birthday,but not quite.
08159,Darlington shed yard circa 1978.A North Eastern engine for all of its life ,it eventually went on hire to Monkton Coking plant, before returning to Gateshead ,for storage before onward transit to Doncaster Works for scrapping ,which had happened by June 1986.Its cab had been removed and used as a replacement on 08887.
08160 Wolverton Works Openday,in the times when we had Open days at BR works.Rather unsurprisingly I dont recall this including the Royal train shed ,where the Royal train was kept.The loco has obviously been "bulled up" as can be seen by the reflection of the wooden access steps in the cab side.It was also bestowed with the name "Wolverton",painted onto the battery box cover.All this was alas eventually in vain ,as it was cut up at Donny works by September 1986.Its ashame ,her Madge or Phil ,didnt bestow a Royal pardon on this one, (obviously not big 08 enthusiasts !!)
08161 Darlington Shed yard (DN) Circa 1978, and the loco looks fit and healthy, and ready for use, which is a change from quite a few I have posted previously. Throughout the seventies, the 08 allocation didn't seem to change much, and at weekends a fair proportion of the 08 allocation could be seen on the home depot. As I recall they were for the most part relatively low numbered 08's, hence vacuum only examples, which were the ones I most look forward to seeing! Time and tide of course wait for no man, and by March 1986 the loco had been withdrawn and cut up at Donny works.
08163 Doncaster Plant 18/12/83 and the signs don't look good for this 350! Already shunted onto the road that lead to the main scrapping area, it's a fair assumption that this one had come to grief, with a shifted crank. This would have been on the rear axle, hence why the back connecting rod has been removed. Even in better times, this was a big repair, but of course by this date was out of the question for a vac only 08. This particular example spent the whole of its working life in East and West Yorkshire and was finally cut up in February 1984.
08164 Tyne Yard circa 1985. Sold to RFS Industries and moved to Doncaster in July 1988, it was christened ,"Christine", and happily was then sold on to the pro diesel, East Lancashire Railway at Bury, where it still resides to this day, but could be under the disguise of D3232, which really doesn't matter as its another one saved!
No.4 D9514, NCB Ashington circa 1985 My excuse for slipping this one in, is that it's on the same short strip of negatives as 08164 above. In this long odyssey it gives a brief interlude and some diversity to the 08 story. Any way enough of that, sold to the NCB in May 1969, this loco had achieved just over THREE years of revenue earning service before being thrown away! Initially allocated the number 9312/96, (the Coal Board never did anything by halves!!), it then sensibly became No.4. Sadly this one didn't make it into preservation and was broken up at Ashington in December1985. For anyone who had the misfortune not to visit Ashington at the time, it was a truly wonderful place to visit and was literally "14 land", and not just Northumberland!! This photo is dedicated to my good friend Dave Hartley at the Nene Valley Rly. Dave,who is very unassuming, has been the mainstay of knowledge to help keep the preserved 14's up and down the Country running, and richly deserves this vote of thanks. THANKS, from us all mate.
08165 Hessle yard, Hull circa 1978. An appropriate shot as this loco was allocated to East Yorkshire, for all of its working life. At the time of the photo it was allocated to Hull Botanic Gardens Shed (BG), where it would be withdrawn from, and scrapped in the Winter of 1980, at Swindon works. Probably sent here, rather than Donny to keep the chaps at Swindon in work.
08166 Hull Botanical Gardens shed yard(BG)circa 1979 Another mainly East Yorkshire loco,and long term resident of Hull.It made the relatively short trip to Doncaster Works and was scrapped in September 1983.
08167 Glasgow Works (ZH)circa August 1978,In store on the "scrapline"it would last a year here before its turn for reducing to manageable size pieces(Talking of which ,also see accompanying photo below)A lifelong North Eastern region engine it was withdrawn from Darlington(DN) after having a 12 year stint here.
And this was one I took later....and those dmu's look none too healthy either!! In the centre of the photo is the left hand cab side off 08167, still also showing its blue DN, Darlington shed sticker, and data panel. I hope this was acquired by an enthusiast but the chances are it went in the bin with the rest of the loco. (What a talking point to adorn a garden!!) Notice also the steel plates laid in the foreground to make the job of clearing up easier after the loco has been disposed of.
08168 Hessle yard, circa 1975, while allocated to Botanic Gardens at Hull. It was withdrawn in March 1988, a remarkable record given its vac only status. It was sold to York carriage works, and after various owners, it is currently with Nemesis Rail at Burton upon Trent.
08169 Heads down the line, with a guards van in tow, near Dringhouses, just south of York station, circa 1975. A long time York allocated engine, infact all its working life apart from five years it spent away at 55B Stourton, Leeds. Sent to Swindon works in July 1981, it was cut up by October of the same year.
08170 Gateshead (GD) Newcastle, circa 1983. Seen stabled in the shed yard. Another North Eastern engine for all of its working life. Withdrawn in March of 1986, it was eventually sold to RFS, Doncaster Works. Moved to Thomas Hill (Loco dealers) ,Kilnhurst, S' Yorks, it was systematically stripped there, until the frames and wheels were sent to Booths at Rotherham for final disposal in December 1991.
08171. My best guess for this one is Scarborough after the withdrawal of the 03's, on duties here? Allocated to York since 1973, it never moved to another Depot again, until its withdrawal. Scarborough was a stabling point that was served by York allocated shunters. Not found it in my spotting notes yet, but taking a guess as circa 1980, but any clues to a better guess than this would be gratefully received! The loco was withdrawn in April 1983, sent to Donny Works and cut up by September of the same year.
08172 Healey Mills Yard, circa 1975. Situated in the yard, just to the right of this picture was Healey Mills depot (HM), where the loco pictured was shedded at the time. This was an extremely hard depot to get round, as it could only be be legally accessed from a footbridge into the yard. I might be wrong but permits weren't issued often, if at all to this shed. Saying all this, a good percentage of the locos on here could usually be seen by walking along the bank at the end of the access road. The loco moved from here in March 1985, and after only five months at Barrow hill, was returned for scrapping to Doncaster Works in Autumn of the same year.
08173 Polmadie Depot(PO) circa 1977. Those tyres don't look very healthy to me!! Converted to Depot pilot as PO1 from May 1978 (The original PO1 being 08247 up to this time). It pottered about on Polmadie, until It was eventually sent to Thornton Junction, and scrapped by staff from Vic Berry's in March 1987.
08175 .Yet another shunter that had its Wes slack brake adjusters removed, most probably for re-use. Not sure about this one, and I will stand being corrected but, most probably Dunfermiline Townhill (DT). After being withdrawn from Grangemouth in December 1978 It was eventually moved to Glasgow, London Rd Goods Depot, where it was scrapped in April 1986 by staff from A.R.Adams.
08176 Blyth Cambois circa 1983.A stabling point for Newcastle Gateshead (GD),shed.It subsequently went on hire to Monkcton Coking plant then Lambton Coking works .This must have meant the kiss of death for it as it was then reported stored in the nearby Lambton Colliery in January 1986,and had moved to Donny Works by March 86 and cut up by the June.
08177 Bescot yard circa 1978. A Midland Region 08 for all of its working life, It eventually migrated onto the Eastern region at Hull Botanic Gardens and then finally York, where it was withdrawn in October 1988, and returned to Crewe Works for dismantling in Dec 1989.
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08178 circa 1979 in Derby Works Yard. It didn't have long to go as by May 1982 it was withdrawn and sent to Swindon Works as part of the great 08 vac only round up, and cut up finally by Febuary 1984. (I am intrigued by the load the runner wagon is carrying but guess I will never find out now, unless you know better?)
08180 circa 1978 ,Selhurst (SU),just transferred to the Southern Region ,it was back on the Eastern region at Shirebrook(SB), for a short time before meeting its end at Swindon Works in August 1981.
08181 Toton Open day , with as I remember, D8 doing run pasts. The very formidable lady, looks as though she is calling the enthusiasts to order! Or it may be that she is still getting over the shock of gricing her very last 08, before its subsequent demise at Swindon Works in November 1984. Obviously in the days before we got totally consumed by elf and safety, and the jobsworth's trying to find a niche for themselves!!
08182 Saltely (SY), Birmingham, circa 1980,and one of the Depot's finest poses for its photograph. After being introduced at Derby, it spent two years here before being transferred away to the Birmingham area, until its final curtain call at Swindon Works, where it was scrapped by March 1982.
08183 Lincoln Depot (LN), circa 1980, and contrary to an earlier post, if you were to stand in the same position today, you would be "knee deep" in Stagecoach buses, being serviced. Remarkably apart from the railway lines that have gone, inside the shed it looks much the same today. Of course 08183 has also gone, as it was scrapped at Derby Works by October 1984. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that it was a very long time Sheffield area engine but I only got a B & White of it after its transfer to Lincoln! (Such is life). By the way, for anyone who spots Lansing Bagnall electric pallet lifters, this is the shot for you!!
08184 (TI) Seen at the late lamented Tinsley Depot circa 1980. If you were to stand in the same spot today, you would probably be in the process of buying a new car (As there is a wholesale car distributor and a hotel on the site today). The loco didn't fare well either as it was unceremoniously dragged of to Swindon to be scrapped by April 1982.
08185 Bristol Bath Rd (BR), in the close confines of the shed yard, circa 1978. It would be reallocated to Thornaby near Middlesboro for a short time before making the long journey back down to Swindon Works, to be cut up by October 1982.
08186 Barrowhill Roundhouse Shed (BH), and one of the depot's finest sits in the roundhouse waiting for Monday to come around again, circa 1980.The loco would have seven years allocated here, before being taken to Swindon Works, and cut up by August 1986. Another loco shed that I mourn its BR days, and its ambience.
The 08 Odessy Continues!!
08187 Swindon Yard,circa 1984.Always a Western Region loco,and yet another consigned to the dustbin because of its vac only status.It moved to here from Cardiff Canton,and lasted for almost three years before being cut up in July 1986.
08188 Swindon Dump.Look carefully at the photo that preceded this,and you will see that the loco nestling up to it cab to cab,is none other than 08187.This also lasted almost another three years before its date with destiny,and bizzarely they were always transfered together on the same dates to the same depots!,so its ironic that they both vitually met their end together.This underlines to me ,what an absolute appaling waste of taxpayers money,the condemnation program of the entire" vac only" fleet of 08's was.
08189 Swindon Dump early 1984.Another long time Cardiff Canton engine,and also always allocated to the Western Region.I puzzled for ages ,looking at this one ,wondering ,why it was different ,and then realised the numbers are in the wrong font.Its intriguing as it looks a professional job,but we may never know?.Anyway it was all to no avail as it followed many of its classmates into the scrapbin here by March 1984.
08190 I would stand correcting if I am wrong ,but I think this is Roath docks at Cardiff.What a grotty place ,and it looks as though the track and the loco are liberally covered in coal slack or dust.Either way not a healthy enviroment for a mechanical machine like an 08,to be in.I would guess at 1979 for this photo ,this would probably be near its swansong ,as it was withdrawn in October and cut up inthe December 1980 at Swindon Works.
08191 stands on Cardiff Canton with probably plenty of other 08's on any given weekend in the 70's/early 80's.This is a little misleading as I believe this has just come back off hire to Aberaman Coal preparation plant in October 1982 .It would soldier on for about another six years ,usually on hire to the NCB(Not good news!!), and it had later been transfered to Landore Depot at Swansea.I am guessing this "Cavalier ",approach to lending it out to various sites at the NCB ,was due to the fact ,it was scheduled for withdrawal as "vac only",so it didnt matter how it was used at the NCB(I can only imagine!!).The end finally came when it moved to Vic Berrys at Leicester where it arrived in September 1989,and had disappeared by the following month.
08192 Cardiff Canton Yard circa 1979.The loco would be sent to Swindon Works for storage in Jan 81,only to be reinstated and sent to Haymarket in Edinboro, in Feb 81.It only stayed till July 82 ,when it then returned to Swindon Works for furthur storage in November 82 and was finally cut up,by Feb 1985.
08193 sits in Radyr Yard near Cardiff with 08353 for company,circa 1980.looks like the Chargeman has just parked them up ,and is walking back to the cabin to go back into relaxed mode.Another location that has now all but disappeared .Up to them being withdrawn.My personal expectation for here ,was in seeing and photting the resident PWM ,as there was usually one here.As for 08193? Well it had a spell on hire to NCB Maerdy ,and went back to Cardiff Canton where it was promptly withdrawn.10/7/83.No doubt something to do with the care(?)it would have received at the Colliery!.It made its inevitable way to Swindon works in October 1983,and it was no more than a memory sometime before June 1986.
08194 Cardiff Canton ,circa 1978 and that electric hoist at the front of the loco looks very handy for lifting at least the front end up.Another one that spent all of its working life in South Wales .It was withdrawn from Cardiff Canton ,and sent to Swindon works,in January 1981.This one had disappeared by October of 1983.
08195 Radyr Yard ,circa 1979 .Dont know what they have been "Laying to waste",but it sure has made a mess!!And Oh! ,for a pleasant change...wait for it ;Saved for preservation ! ,still with us and bumbling along at the very pleasant Llangollen Railway.Things didnt look too good for it ,as it went on "holiday"to Swindon works ,after withdrawl in September 83,and it was to remain at Swindon till March 1986 before it was removed from storage and sent to Llangollen.A happy end for at least one out of this large batch, shedded at Cardiff Canton.I believe its now known as D3265,but it doesnt matter its still with us.
08196 Roath Docks ,Cardiff,circa 1979 .Went to store in Swindon Works ,early 1981,but was quickly reinstated and sent to Scotland,Eastfield Depot(ED).It didnt last long in its new status before being withdrawn in November 1983 and stored at Grangemouth shed(GM).It lingered there for two years before being sold to A.R.Adams for scrap,and was moved to London Rd Goods yard ,Glasgow,where it was disposed of in early 1986.
08197 Its a glorious sunny day at Swindon Works .Its circa 1980,but not all is what it seems.Although it had solely been a Western region engine up to the early 70's ,it was then transfered away to the Eastern Region and when this photo was taken it would be a Shirebrook Loco(SB),and had come here for a classified repair ,rather than Donny Works,to keep the men here,gainfully employed a little longer.It was to no avail of course ,the loco returned to the North and was withdrawn from Bradford Hammerton St depot(HF) in early 83,and had gone to Doncaster Works and been cut up by Febuary 1984.
08198 I think this is Cardiff General ,but if you think differently please let me know,circa 1979.Always a Western Region engine(again),it was withdrawn in December 1980 ,and was cut up by November of the following year.
08199 As soon as I saw the number "199" ,my mind went to Cricklewood ,and sure enough it was allocated there,but for only two years,until it moved North ,to Burton,Leicester then finally Derby loco ,where it spent just over two years,before being withdrawn from there ,and moved to Derby Etches Park(EP) ,where it was stored for just over a year ,and then sent to Donny Plant ,where it was cut up by July 1984.(And there's me hoping before reading the notes that this one had survived!
08200 Darlington (DN), circa 1983.If im not mistaken ,this was part of a trip ,which took in all the existing Collierys and Coking Plants in Durham,Northumberland and Tyne and Wear in the same holiday, as well as Tyne Yard ,Low fell,Tyne and Wear NCL,Gateshead,Sunderland ,Hartlepool,and Newcastle Central Station in the evenings,( as I stopped for some of the nights in the city) .The trip was mainly focussed on rooting out all the ex Br Shunters working up there including every existent 14 at Ashington,down the branch at Lynemouth Colliery,and two that were in Lambton Works which were particuarly hard to photograph ,as I had been "ejected" three times from this location, before I managed to grab photos of the last couple! So bearing in mind the trip started and finished in Sheffield,and went as far North as Alnwick ,it was all achieved on my Honda 90 which was my main transport at the time!!Also as I remember the £15.00 petrol bill, for over a 1000miles! My gut feeling ,about the state of the mining Industry wasnt wrong ,because of course after this,the doomed miners strike followed , which Maggie Thatcher had ochestrated and then won with much determination and cost to the Country,and the wrecking of the miners livelehoods.The ex BR locos disappeared with the closure of the pits and other installations,and by the mid 80's most of them were just a memory.But back to 08200,a Southern Loco for most of its existence,it moved to Swindon Works in April 1981 for storage ,but a reversal of fortunes saw it repaired and sent North to Darlington in the same month(The repairs must have been minor).It moved to Thornaby (TE),,and was finally withdrawn there in April 86 ,and stored there for a furthur six years ,before being sent to C.F.Booths ,Scrap Merchants at Rotherham, where it was finally cut up by September 1992.
08200 Eastleigh shed no doubt straight after a works visit,(Eastleigh Wks that would be!)
Looking in fine fettle ,but obviously with a limited life span ,because of its vac only status.See notes above for furthur information on this loco,I thought a nice colour image of the first "08 2",may be the catalyst to posting up to 08300,but I really dont know how much interest there is ,if any in to me devoting the time in listing them with their potted histories?So its over to you ,please let me know if its worthwhile continuing,or conversely not doing,its up to you ,an email doesnt cost anything other than a little time,I will leave it with you? syr_03099@yahoo.co.uk
08201 and Beyond, into the Unknown!!
08201 Eastleigh Shed Yard(EH) Circa 1977 .Transferred to Willesden in North London in November 1981 ,it lasted here for just over a year before being withdrawn in December 1982 ,moved to store at Acton then sent to Doncaster Works and cut up May 84.
08202 Eastleigh Shed Yard(EH) circa 1973.Withdrawn in May 1985,It was soon reinstated and after a brief spell at Selhurst in South London,it was reallocated to Cardiff Canton (CF),then after a three month loan period to NCB Deep Navigation Pit ,it was withdrawn again in May 1989.A change of fortune saw it sold to G.G.Papworth of Ely,then eventually it made its way (happily),into preservation,at the Chasewater Railway and by 2019 it now resides on the up and coming Avon Valley Railway ,near Bristol,do visit if you get the chance.
08203 Probably Eastleigh shed yard ,or am I mistaken?Anyway this was eventually retrieved from storage at Swindon works and sent to Landore at Swansea where it was transformed into a cut down cab (Think coupe saloon with a sports car, hard roof!),08,and was renumbered 08991,for working on the Burry Port & Gwandraeth Branch ,where at least one 08 had come to grief,and had been written off ,due to the oversight of not noticing it had a regular height cab ,on a branchline with extraordinarily low bridges!!,but thats good old BR for you.
08204,Eastleigh Shed Yard (EH),Again!Unfortunately I only seemed to see and phot this small batch on their home depot ,so apologies for this ,but it would have probably meant time off in the week from the sweatshop,and this would have in turn swallowed up valuable days,from the weeks allocated for all line Rail Rovers ,and we couldnt possible had that! Sadly there is an element of truth in the above statement ,although thinking about it I would be probably being doing the same now,only lots more of it given that the railway scene was the same today as it was forty plus years ago!
08205,This has to be a guess at Norwich?circa 1981 .The loco was withdrawn here in November 1983 ,and was scrappd at Doncaster Works by August 84.
08206 Tinsley Depot Yard, while still allocated to Healey Mills circa 1980.It must have come for maintenance or repair.It had a furthur move to Holbeck ,Leeds .It was withdrawn from here in Febuary 1988,sent back to Knottingley ,and stored for a furthur year until sent to Vic Berry,s Leicester Yard where it was cut up in by July 1989.
08207 Swindon "Dump" ,sidings as it was generally known.Its May 1983 and the loco is in its death throes.Looking at it ,this shunter has been carefully dismantled for parts ,with too many to name being missing.However its on accomodation wheels sets (two only),as the original ones will have most probably been recovered as a set of three (All the same diameter tyres),with the leading and trailing set having their respective traction motors on them.The power unit has been recovered for a possible spare, or alternatively sold to an engine dealer.They havent bothered with the droplight window in the cab,as this is a standard Mark 1 coach ,door window size.Another reason being that all the wood tongue and groove boarding, has to be unbolted from the inner face of the cab to get to the droplight window with its runners and lazy tongue return mechanism.The door frame has been recovered though, as the door is propped up against the desk ,after removal .This has one fixed glass window panel in the top and the bottom is a steel plate contained within the bottom half of the wooden door frame.Looking at the main fuel tank the fuel guage has been removed with integral float mechanism,but the main inspection plates,bolted to each side of the bottom side of the fuel tank will still both have to be removed ,to ensure all diesel fuel oil has been drained ,and allow adequate ventilation to the tank while final cutting is in progress.Nowadays this is done with propane gas as opposed to Acetylene,and the accompanying oxygen mixture of course. At an earlier time the cab looks good enough to have saved,but as all of the earlier version with the wooden cab doors were scheduled for withdrawal,( if it hadnt already happened) ,there was no point in saving one.There is a fair chance that this was just "Surplus to Requirements",so rendered redundant.Put in layman's terms its akin ,to not bothering to trade in your perfectly sound, road worthy ,MOT tested motorcar,just scrap it instead ,as the registration plate has the wrong number or letter on the end of it!! It didnt really matter ,as it was just another case of wasting tax payers money.On a lighter note ,notice the spotter striding purposefully across the tracks ,at the front of the loco ,with camera slung over his shoulder, so there was obviously much more to see and photograph!
08208 At the Superb Tinsley Depot(TI),situated approximately halfway between Sheffield and Rotherham,circa 1980.A long time Tinsley Stalwart ,its a loco I always associate with Tinsley.I was very lucky ,as I only live about two and a half miles from where the depot was situated,so a visit on most Christmas or Boxing days was a "Given",but judging by the weather this wasnt one of those visits.Hindsight is obviously a wonderful thing and I feel as though I ought to have visited more reguarly,but thats in the past.Getting back to 208 ,A long time Scottish loco ,(which I now find amazing),it arriived at Tinsley in 1972 ,and was withdrawn from there in October 1984.After being at Barrowhill in storage .It made its way to Doncaster Works and was cut up in November 1985.
08209 Tinsley(TI) shed yard,circa 1981.Stabled as usual at the South end of the shed yard.Up to nine 08's could be seen stabled here which was the nearest siding next to the bank ,easily accessible from the main access road to the Depot,Bonnet Lane.Of course if the Depot had been in existence now 8' pallisade fencing would be the order of the day,so definitely no phots allowed ,but thats as they say is progress?Getting my political hat on,probably been more useful if they had put a pallisade fence around the whole South coast of our green and pleasant land,to keep undesirables out ,including the EU "Dictators"!!
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08210 Frodingham (FH),circa 1978.A long time Frodingham loco .this had started its working life at various Scottish depots ,before migrating South.It had furthur spells at York and then Tinsley where it was unofficially named "Tuxford".It made its final relatively short trip to Booths of Rotherham where it was cut up in November 1989.
08211Thornaby (TE),circa 1980. Another late lamented Depot with its Roundhouse ,that greeted you as virtually the first major building encountered when approaching the Shed Complex,from the narrow (ish)Lane off the main road ,which ran down the side of the Depot.Another long term Eastern engine which after migrating from Scotland to 56B Healey Mills ,near Wakefield,,and eventually found its way to Thornaby.Withdrawn in March 1985,it was cut up at Donny Works by the following March.By the way ,and just to stir it up a little;Who wants to take a phot of a Peak or a 37 when theres an Iconic "350" to be photted?!
08212 Thornaby(TE) Depot Yard,circa 1980 ,This had been a Thornaby engine since 1975,and another one with an earlier Scottish History.Apparently it went on loan to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in July 1976 for a short time(Shame they didnt buy it!),and it then returned to Thornaby .Transfered to Eastern Region operating stock in 1981 ,it made its way to Swindon in October of the same year ,and was cut up by Febuary 1982.
08213 .Originally allocated to Scotland it changed the trend and migrated to the London Midland Region ,where after spells at Carlisle,Barrow,Wigan and Manchester ,it was finally allocated to Allerton(AN),Liverpool,where it was withdrawn in November 1980 and made the inevitable trek to Swindon, "Dump",where its photographed in May 1981,and has been lined up for the "Grand Finale",that took place by August 81 ,and so another one consigned to the history Books.
08214 at Gateshead Shed(GD)Circa1984,Still with the SB,stencilled under the number denoting its last shed Shirebrook.The equipment in the foreground including the oil drums on the trolley ,suggests to me that they have been draining the loco of fuel and or lubricants ready for its period of storage.Taken to Donny works and cut up by Jan 86.
08215 Doncaster Works, 28/11/82 .Another loco of Scottish origin which eventually migrated to the Eastern Region,finishing its useful life at Thornaby(TE),Middlesboro, being withdrawn and cut up by July 83.
08216 I would say within the dark confines of Barrow shed(BW) circa 1975.Fortunately the sunshine is illuminating the loco.This was another personal favourite ,as it had an extended life ,being rescued from the Swindon dump scrap lines and bought to work again at the Sheerness steel company,on the Isle of Sheppey,Kent.It was instantly recognisable here as it had its buffer beams extended downwards,most probably to help re-railing it ,with the dodgy trackwork in the steelworks here.It was saved for preservation which was short lived as it was subsequently scrapped by a notorious "loco dealer",in 2001.
08217 Doncaster Plant scrapline ,28/11/82,taken at the same occasion as 08215 ,above as the great 08 cull by this time was in full swing.You may just be able to spot the label attached to the cab handrail ,most probably sealing its fate ,to be just another memory by May 1983.also notice the gap created between each loco ,making it easier for fitters to access both sides of each loco if there were any spares to cherry pick.
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08218 ,5th of October1980 ,and it looks as though its a really hot,sunny day at Swindon Dump.It was going to get a lot hotter for this loco as it was cut up by the August of the next year,probably just round the corner near the works yard.
08219 Seen at the rear of Tinsley Depot(TI).It Spent most of its life in the Sheffield region and was withdrawn from Tinsley as depicted here ,waiting for the final curtain call to Doncater Works where it was cut up in August 1983.
08220 Crewe Works,Eagle Bridge , circa 1975.Notice the guide riding on the footplate probably catching up with the party.Another lucky survivor that is still with us .Moved to Carnforth in 1990,It became increasingly derelict there until sold to a private buyer who took it to a site adjacent to Wrenbury station in Shropshire.It was then moved again to the Great Central North at Ruddington,where its restoration was completed.It is currently on hire,and may return to its preserved status at a later date.
08221 Swindon Works ,September 1981 .A Midland Region loco for all of its 25 years ,it was finally broken up by November !981.
08222 Crewe Diesel Shed yard,Summer 1983.By this stage of its career the loco was in store here ,and would remain so until October of the same year when it was reinstated and moved to Bounds Green,North London.It lasted here just over a year before being withdrawn in December 1984.It lingered here for nearly 9 years before being sold for scrap to Gwent Demolition ,Margam,S.Wales,but the sale was subsequently cancelled.Moved to Old Oak Common in April 1987,and broken up on site by M.R.J.Phillips here in August of 1987.
08223 Swindon Works,circa June 79,and just getting readied for the final curtain call.The equipment missing from the rear of the front buffer beam ,was probably the result of a bizarre accident that befell more than one Tinsley loco.It ran away from the shed yard ,on the South side up the headshunt and through the crash barrier before encroaching onto the Sheffield Parkway.This dual carriageway links Sheffield City Centre ,with Junction 33 of the M1!,and it would have been on or very near the southbound carriageway.Anyway, missing items include the underslung air compressor ,two large air tanks and associated structural steel. Its rods have been removed for its last journey to the Works,so definitely the end for this long term Sheffield 08 ,the coup de grace coming at Swindon Works in Febuary 1980.
08224 York (YK) Shed Yard,now part of the National Railway Museum.Its a grotty day as you maybe able to see from the trees through the fog behind the wagon.It was at York for a total of four years ,and after a short spell at Lincoln was finally allocated to Doncaster shed (DR).Sold to Gwent Demolition ,it was moved to Margam in South Wales ,and cut up here in December 1983.
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08225 Darlington Depot yard 1983(DN) Around this time and especially at weekends,a good selection of vacuum only 08's could usually be found here.Only two years later the loco was terminally damaged while being hauled to Etherley Tip ,with bent side rods and locked wheels.Presumably it had shifted a crank when locking up (An axle box run hot and seized?),so by this time rendering the loco as scrap.The loco was moved to Thornaby where it was officially withdrawn October 1985,and moved to Donny Works where it was scrapped by March 86,so consigning another one to the history books.
So ,to respond to an overwhelming public appeal for me to continue with the Saga ,Here goes!
08226 Bradford Hammerton St. (HS), Late 1978.It was only allocated here for about for four months before it moved back to Leeds, at Neville Hill, (It had previously been allocated at Holbeck). It had a furthur move to Donny shed in October 1985.Whether it ever turned a wheel in anger there is open to debate, as it was withdrawn just a month later ,and found its way over the mainline and into the Plant(Doncater Works),where it was cut up by May of 1986.
08227 Im going out on a limb here and really not sure ,its Scotland ,(that narrows it down a bit!!),on loan to Comrie Colliery in 1983,and was subsequently stored at Dunfermiline Townhill,it subsequently went into store ,and by March 1986 it had been moved to Glasgow,London Rd ,goods yard,and had been scrapped by the following month.Come on all you experts ,where is this shot taken please?or have I got to get my many notebooks out......
08228 Colchester(CR) ,circa 1978 and it looks in fine fettle as most of these based at Colchester and Stratford did.This of course didnt last though, as after a period at Norwich ,she was finally dragged off to Doncaster Works in September 1985 ,where it had a date with the scrapman and was no more by January 1986.
08229 Undoubtably Frodingham Depot (FH) ,and it looks as though its in store.Much of interest in this shot,its not everyday ,an 08 was seen displaying both lion over crown,and the later flying arrows together.Notice also the "white elephant",to its right being one of the ill fated Eastern Region conversions to a snow plough,ADB968012 .Getting back to the history of 08229? ,moved to Doncaster Works in December 1978 and broken up straightaway.
08230 Swindon works storage yard,Spring 1983,and by this time after nearly three years of storage there wasnt that much left of this one.Coupling rods ,all the brake linkage,brake cylinders,and part of the cab roof is missing along with all of the windows ,(probably the cab doors) ,engine room doors and bonnets,and the fuel guage for main fuel tank situated at the top front of the cab,as well as the complete front of the loco.The orientation of the photo is due to the very closely packed sidings ,which even with a wide angle lens ,was difficult to get a worthwhile shot under these conditions.It had finally been put out of its misery by June of the same year.
08230,I have put this one on ,as the last one is quite depressing and this is a better depiction of it.My best guess is Kings Lynn station yard,the loco was allocated to March at the time.To complete its history,it was withdrawn on September 1980,and made its way to Swindon ,as depicted in the previous photo and was finally cut in June 1983
08231 Stratford (SF) , Jubilee Shed,circa 1978.A shed always worth visiting ,and any given weekend the Jubilee shed would be heaving with 08's and before this 03's as well.Sadly if you was to stand in this position today you may be in the new olympic stadium ,or some such nonsense,anyway suffice to say Stratford's only railway connection with the past is a very small industrial steam loco sandwiched between the new railway station and the bus interchange,but that as they say is progress .Withdrawn in September 1980,it made its inevitable one way journey to Swindon works ,where by June 83 it was just a memory.
08232 Doncaster Plant ,28/11/82 It looks reasonably fit and healthy on this photo ,which is nothing to go by of course.It really didnt matter as it had already been "assessed"by the man with the red biro,it was scrap.Its mind boggling to think that over the course of the years ,the men running BR,managed to get rid of 750 of these! and I wonder how many REALLY needed to be scrapped ,bearing in mind there is now a shortage of them and their value is at a premium ,with the TOCs ,and other users ?
08233,and it must be Stratford Depot (SF) complex. This 08 is maybe one of a unique few , in only being allocated to one depot for its entire service history ; new in April 1956 it was withdrawn from Stratford May 1973 and went into Eastern region operating stock May 1981. Cut up at Stratford by a private contractor in March 1982.
08234 Stonebridge Park carriage sidings (North London) Usually at that time,served by a Willseden based 08 shunter ,or on occasion,shunters.I wouldnt even dream of walking round it now unless I had been flown in by helicopter first,as the pallisade fences will be everywhere.However in times gone by ,providing you kept a low profile ,a casual walk round was usually overlooked by BR staff .As sad as it may sound ,I had probably ventured here for another purpose.What would that be you may ask?Well I had decided to migrate to " Railway coach spotting" , after doing the full set of locos at least 3 times then dmus followed by the Emus ,you get the picture.However this also encompassed all of the parcel vans ,royal train stock and other odd vehicles ,not the least being the bullion coaches ,of which there were 5 ,and bullion bogies of which,I believe there were 4 ,they were akin to a modern day container flat wagon.Not easy to spot and one of these was my last vehicle to spot (M99503),so I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for it on the LMR,so visited here quite reguarly at one point.Suffice to say my spotting activities only increased the amount of locos I photographed ,so it was a win ,win. To get back to 08234 ,it was sent to Swindon works in September 82 and was cut up three months later in December 82.Oh! by the way ,yes I eventually saw the missing bullion flat.
Now dont all rush at once ,but,,,,,Has anyone got B&W photos of 08235 & 08236 I could use please for this list? ,as it would fill the gap that I cant ,as of yet , as far as i know I didnt get shots of these two.You would be credited with the shots if you so wish,but you must also own the copyright to the photo ,if you didnt take it ,or have permission to use it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Thanks in advance.
08236 Swindon works ,August 1976.The loco had suffered serious accident damage at Kensington Olympia in August 1975.The front section seems to have a serious "droop",so it could have had something hit it from the front or possibly its run into something,or its not this at all but a shifted crank.What ever its was ,after assessment at Derby works ,it was dispatched to Swindon for component recovery and scrapping.The end came in September 76.Many thanks to Mr.Peter Leatard for the loan of the photo,and making the whole 08 story a little more complete. Update!!........More of the story of this tragic accident, has now been unearthed .No explanation has come to light of why the loco was pulling some vehicles ,when it ran nose first into a concrete block placed across the track presumably being used as a buffer stop,at Kensington Olympia .The force of the loco suddenly coming to an abrubt halt ,displaced the very heavy Voltage Regulator off its shelf ,situated at the back of the cab,usually securely bolted down) ,quite high up,striking the West indian Driver a fatal blow to the head .If he had been driving the loco from the driver or secondman's position its extremly unlikely this would have hit him,but the handbrake column is situated under this ,so maybe he was trying to apply the hand brake ,winding it on when the AVR struck him the fatal blow? As it had only just been into Derby for a scheduled repair this may have been the reason it returned there after the accident (for examination and assessment ),before its onward journey to Swindon Works and oblivion.Maybe also the stigma of having some poor unfortunate chap, been killed while driving it ,or the " Jinx factor",also came into play ,and no one wanted to work on it again,quite understandable given the circumstances. What a very sad story , more so for the driver of course than the mere loco.
08237 Colchester depot (CR) circa 1978 it would stop here till 1980 when it was then allocated briefly to Stratford,Finsbury Park and finally Bounds green where it was withdrawn in 1984 and was cut up at Swindon Works by late 86.
08238 Location unknown at the time of posting.Probably of more interest is the fact that after withdrawal in March 84 ,it was sold to Forest Free mining of Tetbury ,for use in the forest of Dean,but permission was subsequently refused and the loco sale was cancelled.It was then sold to Bill Parker to use at the then privatised Swindon Railway workshops.Happily it moved into preservation in 1993 ,and can be usually seen in a very well kept state,named "Charlie", at the glorious Dean Forest Railway.If you have never been ,its highly recommended for a visit.
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08239 No doubt in the "Jubilee Shed ",of the late lamented Stratford Shed Complex.Stratford or 30A ,for those who never had the pleasure of visiting ,was one of the biggest depots in the Country ,with a massive allocation of shunters ,and namely 08's in its latter days.These served the East end docks,Liverpool Street Station and the many smaller yards and sidings in London's East end.Back to the 08,sold to HNRC for "preservation" and stored at the premises of the South Yorkshire Rly Pres.Society,Meadowhall ,Sheffield.After component recovery taken to EMR Kingsbury and put to the torch by HNRC staff in October 1985.
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08240 I believe this is Cambridge in the late 70,s but I cant seem to tie it into my spotting notes .anyway of no matter,it was withdrawn in July 82 and made its way to Swindon works it was cut up by Febuary 1985
08241 Stratford Depot (SF) That looks as though its the shed foreman,but why he is here is anyones guess? I can only think ,that we must have had a permit and he was ensuring the party was safe.Conversly we may not have had a permit and he was proceeding to eject us from the premises! (If im honest probably the latter).In the last ten years or so of it being a proper depot providing you made it through the dedicated subterannean passage from the station and steered clear of the office block,you were in with a chance! And as for 241?arrived Swindon Works ,Febuary 82 and cut up by May of the same year.
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08242 ,Doncaster Wood Yard Sidings ,adjacent to the late lamented Donny MPD ,36A or DR. It looks like a grotty day ,with the fog masking the trees in the background.
08243 circa 1974 ,seen at Swindon Works.It looks as though its waiting to return to its depot after a classified overhaul.An Eastern region shunter for all of its 29 year life ,it was withdrawn from Knottingly(KY),and sent to Bescot for a intended sale to BMC Longbridge.This didnt happen so the loco was on the move again to Willesden arriving in November 1985 ,and being withdrawn there a year later.It headed North from here ,finally arriving at Birds, Long Marston ,where it spent at least another 4 years in storage before finally succumbing to the cutters torch.Another sad story to highlight the abject waste of resources practiced by BR at the time.
08244 Tinsley depot Yard(TI) And what a magnificient place to visit it was!!This was only one, on a row of 8 x 08 shunters and there were more on the depot and yard! I still find it a little strange to drive past and see no sign of any locos or Depot for that matter.The only item that hasnt changed much is the bridge carrying bonet lane over the remains of the vanished reception sidings.Stored in the nearby Tinsley Yard in 1986 ,it moved the short distant to C.F.Booths scrapyard ,some three miles away ,where the loco had disappeared into the piles of scrap by january 1990.
08246 Grangemouth Depot(GM) 10/09/78 .this was on an overnight Glasgow & Edinboro coach trip ,organised by the late lamented Northern Counties Transport Society .(N.C.T.S.) .Subsequently going into storage at St Rollox Railway Works,Glasgow. Its was then sold to Christies of Calmachie, North Glasgow ,for scrap,where it met is end in April 1987.
08248 Hessle Yard The loco would remain at Botanic gardens ,Hull (BG) ,till 1985 .All though it had overstayed its welcome here ,working after being withdrawn ,the inevitable happened as it was broken up at Doncaster works in July 1985.
08249 York Motive Power Depot . As mentioned before ,now part of the National Railway Museum.It left York in January 1984 for Lincoln ,where it remained in service for a whole 14 months ,then withdrawn some two months later and broken up at Swindon Works by March 1987.
08250 I believe this was taken at Stratford(SF) while allocated there.The loco would have a furthur allocation at Norwich before being sold to MC metal processing and dismantled by them at Glasgow Springburn Works in August 1991.
This is a milestone now reached (08250) ,over quite a protracted period ,but still a unique pictorial insight into the ultimate demise ,of one of the largest classes of locos ,diesel or steam to grace the British Isles.
As we are still ,as of the beginning of another year of Covid , and its related restrictions, I am therefore launching an innovative appeal for the Heritage Shunters Trust. Bereft of any income ,save from donations received from extra monies sent when Members have been renewing ,(which we whole heartedly thank them for) ,we have not been able to "add to the kitty".Galas will no doubt be allowed in the fullness of time ,but frankly as we are situated at the moment ,not in the forseeable future.Our unavoidable overheads are more than £4500 per year ,which is rapidly reducing our reserves ,so with this in mind ,this is my proposal ;
from 08250 onwards I am asking you ,(I am presuming everyone that reads these columns are enthusiasts ?) ,to donate between £10 & £20,(Or more if you are feeling benevolent), to have furthur 08 photos posted.This can mean that lets say you want to sponsor the next one which is 08251,your name and the amount donated ,can be included,if you so wish ,in the brief history under the relevant photo.Im sorry but for the sake of continuity the next one of course would be the next numbered one I have a negative for ,so in this case it would be 08253.This means in other words you wouldnt be able to suggest a random 08 number.I hope you can help our appeal as it would be a great shame if we were to find ourselves without sufficient funds to carry on.Although we largely seem to go unnoticed in the preservation world ,and the mags who report on the same,ours is still a unique and unrivalled collection of BR Diesel Shunters which are just as historically important as their larger cousins! Please donate if you can and help bridge the "covid chasm" we are trying to manage ,so securing the collection for ours and future generations to enjoy,
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Thankyou.
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Please forward your requests to; syr_03099@yahoo.co.uk
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( dont forget to include your name and the amount donated,and by return an acknowledgement will be sent with details of how you can make your payment. )
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As mentioned above ,we are now roughly a quarter of the way through the most comprehensive pictorial history of the iconic 08 class ever published, this maybe an appropriate milestone to ask, if you could consider (If you haven't done so already), ordering the Second Edition of our Allocation History of BR Diesel Shunters? to support the heritage Shunters Trust?
All proceeds from the sale of the book go towards restoring and preserving for posterity, our collection of ex British Railway shunters, many of which are unique. This will cost you the princely sum of £25.00 inclusive of post & packing. (Second Class recorded). We are also offering a free gift of a red enamelled HST lapel pin badge. Please pay by Paypal for the item.
All of our items can be viewed by clicking the merchandise tab at the top of the page,
Thanks For Your interest & Support
This book lists all Shunters owned by British Railways (BR), with allocation histories, disposal details and locations where the remaining ones are used. All proceeds from the sale of this book, help towards the restoration and conservation of out historic collection of iconic BR Shunters.