slilley

I remember seeing coal wagons being shunted and that at Tolworth when I was doing "games" at school when I was about 6 or 7, so 1971 1972 that sort of era. The King George V playing fields were next to the line at Tolworth.

So far as the Class 47s are concerned, this is an extract from " Class 47 50 Years of Locomotive History" on the headlight subject. Apart from the early experiments, the first major effort to equip the class with headlights came in 1979. With the emergence of the initial batch of Class 47/7s following overhaul and conversion to push-pull operation, a headlight was fixed to each cab front above the buffer beam, in the now familiar position slightly off centre. By April 1981, Stratford’s No 47574 had also received them. The Mechanical and Electrical Committee were told, on 17 March 1982, that consideration was being given to fitting high and low powered headlamps. Dipped headlamps were deemed to be impractical. There had been some complaints that high-powered lamps used for daylight warning caused excessive dazzle at night. Trials were ongoing, mainly in the London area. At a later meeting of the same committee on 28 September, it was recorded that authority had now been given for all Class 47s to be provided with headlights, and that modification forms had been issued for the fitting to be done at main works and Regional depots. A programme had been drawn up for the work to be carried out between January 1983 and June 1984, spread across the Regions. No 47308 was the first to be fitted with what is now recognised as being the standard locomotive boxed headlight, and the modification was extended to the rest of the class, with No 47008 thought to have been the last to be treated. No 47901 was a noteworthy exception in having been fitted with a headlamp at each end beneath the driver’s side tail lamp when first modified as No 47601 in 1976.

There has been more good news about Class 47 50 Years of Locomotive History.We recently had our Royalty Statement from the publishers and over 800 copies of the book had been sold by the end of November 2012. That's nearly half of the total print run, and it was only launched in mid September! My co-authors and I want to say many thanks to all of you who so far have bought copies of the book so aiding the return to working order of locomotive 47771. If you have yet to buy your copy please contact us at class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk and we will be happy to oblige. Best wishes Simon

I am currently doing some research on these three locomotives and have a couple or three questions about what happened to them after withdrawal in late 1968 and early 1969. 1. 20003 was towed from Brighton to Wimbledon on 15 December 1968. Does anyone know which loco towed it, and the route taken? 2. Which loco(s) towed 20001 and 20002 to Newport for scrapping? When was that? Were they taken together or seperately, and what was the route? 3. Which loco(s) towed 20003 to Kettering for scrap? When was that and what was the route? Any other information anyone might have on these three locomotives is most gratefully received. I have checked all the main websites which have features on them btw. Thanking you in advance for your help on this Best wishes and Happy New Year Simon

Whilst on the subject of shops, who remembers The Smokebox in Kingston? Oh the hours I used to spend in there. I spent a fair bit of time at KX and at the Booking Hall as well. The Booking Hall was a bit like a social club,people wandering in for a natter and a browse and on their way again.

I think I know a man who might know.I'll get him to have a look at this and let you know what he thinks. Regards Simon

In answer to your question yes the overhaul system did change to the Component Exchange Maintenance system. This came in 1987 with the introduction of the 'F' exam. The book I have co-written on the Class 47s, Class 47:50 Years of Locomotive History covers the background of the system also known in some BR quarters as the New Maintenance Policy. Regards Simon

Last classified repair - BR overhauls came under one of three categories, light intermediate or heavy and were planned in advance. Unclassified repairs were where the loco had to be sent toworks following accident damage or a major component failure. The Region sending the locomotive to works would complete a ‘Shopping Proposal Form’ requesting certain work to be carried out, and the types overhaul to be undertaken. This was particularly important when the repair was an unclassified one following the failure of a major component. The form was divided into five sections covering body, engine, generator, bogies and traction motors. The Shopping Controller based in the Regional CM&EE’s department would indicate the repairs required on the incoming locomotive’s main components. The Workshop Overhaul Schedule offered a guide as to the type of repair that should be requested based on a locomotive’s hours. However, as components were often changed at these repairs or sometimes between repairs, the sequence below would often alter between major components. On completion of the work, a ‘Diesel Locomotive Workshop Repair Report’ would be compiled by Crewe detailing the work carried out. Hope this helps. Regards Simon

As you know the book Class 47: 50 Years of Locomotive History will be launched at the Mid Norfolk Railway gala this weekend. The book will be available from the Class 47 Preservation Project sales stand at Dereham from Friday onwards to purchase (or collect if you placed a pre-order with us). On Saturday there will be a book signing session at Dereham between 14.10 and 14.40. Over the course of the weekend all three authors and several of the people who contributed photographs will be at the gala. We will be delighted to see you all, have a chat about anything and everything Class 47 related, and explain how this project came to fruition. I would like to say thank you to everyone at the Mid Norfolk Railway for the help and assistance they have given us in putting together the launch of this book. Looking forwards to seeing as many of you as possible over the course of the weekend. This forum was a big help when we were writing the book so thank you to all of you for the help you gave us. Best wishes Simon

Now that we have had it confirmed that the book Class 47:50 Years of Locomotive History is safely in the distributors warehouse, I am pleased to be able to provide details of how to pre-order the book, ready for its planned launch at the MNR's Gala on 21 to 23 September. The cost of the book is £29.99 and we can reserve you a copy for collection from our stand at the MNR Gala Weekend. Alternatively, P&P is £5.75 if you choose to have it posted to you. P&P for multiple copies available on application. To pre-order send an email to class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk with the following information. Please do not leave a message on this forum as there is the chance your order could be missed. 1. The number of copies you require. 2. If you are paying by cheque or by Paypal. 3. If you wish to collect from the MNR Gala or have posted to you. 4. If you want the book posted to you we need a full postal address. We will confirm your order by email and include details of how to pay by cheque if applicable. All the author's royalties from this book are going towards 47771's restoration and we will raise even more money for the loco if you buy your copy from the Class 47 Preservation Project. To be sure of being able to collect your copy at the MNR Gala please order by no later than 15 September. Thank you all for your help with this book, it is greatly appreciated by three of the authors. Further details of the book launch will follow. Best wishes Simon Lilley

I am delighted to be able to report to you all that we were advised by the publishers today that copies of the book Class 47:50 Years of Locomotive History have now been received by them. Furthermore I am delighted to announce that we are planning a launch of the book at the Mid Norfolk Railway's Class 47 Golden Jubilee Gala, 21 to 23 September. There will be a further announcement regarding how to pre-order the book from us. All the author royalties from this book are going towards the restoration of 47771. The more copies the Class 47 Preservation Project is able to sell, the more money we will raise for the loco. Best wishes as always Simon Lilley

Paul If you PM me your email address I should be able to give you the info you need as it apertained to Class 47s. Regards Simon

I known there were a handful of TTG 47s which got domino, it is a very rare combo. XCant recall which ones off the top of my head but will try to find out.

47367 was the last Class 47 in two tone green, whilst 47256 was the last get blue. It had been fire damaged and was painted in all over green by Cardiff prior to its overhaul at Crewe in 1978. Regards Simon

Chaps From what I have been able to discover BR's Business Engineering Group approved the extension of the livery to a number of classes including the Class 47s in July 1984. The new livery was to be applied to all of the 47/3s and only to freight locomotives of 47/0 sub-class. In this case only locomotives without train heating equipment were to be so treated. Locomotives whose boilers were only isolated would not receive Railfreight livery. The first of the class to receive the livery was No 47050 in the summer of 1985. A change was made with the addition of a red stripe around the base of the loco. The go-ahead for the change was given by Railfreight management in late September 1985. No 47363 was one of the first to be given the revised look. I hope this helps a little. Regards Simon

I think it is a Class 71.

Last night ( Monday 9 jan) Channel 4 had a programme about the Great Train Robbery. A number of clips from the Stanley baker film Roberry were included along with a lot of archive shots of the WCML at the time.

My memories are two-fold, firstly hearing the drone of them as the worked they way up the hill through Oakleigh Park whilst visiting my Grandparents. Their house overlooked the line between there and New Barnet. Secondly is the last day on 2nd Jan and the visit of ITN to KX. I will leave the rest of you to fill in the details on that one Regards Simon

It met its end in the accident that claimed D1671 Thor.

The magazine Steam Days had an article on it quite early on, cant remember exactly which issue but I am sure it was within the first 20 issues.

1908 was written off at Monmore Green, however parts from her were used in the conversion of Class 48 D1702 to Class 47 specification in 1969. D1702 which became 47114 was the last of the former Class 48s to be withdrawn almost certainly because alone it was converted to the all parallel wiring of traction motors rather than the series-parallel of the other 4. As for 1562 the damage was immense, nearly a six figure sum at 1971 prices. Regards Simon

The irony is that in a document I have, that was prepared for the BR Board setting out the case for the acquisition of what became the Class 50s, it does refer to them as DP2 locomotives. Regards Simon

Just to take the "what if" a stage further, what if the BTC had accepted Brush's tender submitted in 1960 as part of the tender exercise for the Standard Type 4s that was a Brush built loco fitted with what proved to be a Class 50 engine. The Brush outline drawing which I have seen suggests the loco would have been "Falcon" like but with a Class 50 style bodyside grille. That particular bid was the cheapest the BTC received at £95,250 per loco.Cheaper than EE's own tender as it happens. As it was the bid submitted by BRCW/AEI/Sulzer won the day and D0260 "Lion" could have been the first of the class. Regards Simon