jdfaulkner

Hi, Hopefully not too much of a digression from the main topic but your nice comment about Mostyn's ageing Hornby Sulzers deserves a good reply. The fleet of Hornby-based 24s and 25s dates back to 2000. It was the first locomotive project where the late David Goodwin and Richard Oldfield worked together. They have gathered great sentimental value over the years and, despite the launch of the SLW Class 24 in October 2015, 24047 and 24133 soldiered on until August 2022 when they were switched off for the final time. The Hornby-based Class 25s (25057/25058/25166/25281 and 25307) have survived the cutters torch and been persuaded to continue on due to the general shortage of motive power on Mostyn. They are running mostly on memory now, the phosphor bronze pick-ups have dug trenches in the wheel treads and the double Hornby 3-pole motors in each of them are completely worn out. They will be in service when Mostyn goes to Spalding in early November 2023 but not for much longer as the SLW 25s get ever closer. Cheers, David (on behalf of Richard Oldfield)