The sun is just starting to disperse the early morning mist as 20127 and 20025 crawl out of the haze as they head along the Goods line “round the back” of Wakefield Kirkgate station with a train of 16 ton mineral wagons, 29th January 1976. 20127 was the last of the initial run of class 20 locomotives and entered traffic as D8127 in August 1962 allocated to Polmadie MPD (Glasgow). It was a Scottish based locomotive for a long time (as denoted by the cab recess for single line token exchange equipment) until it moved south to Tinsley in the mid 1970’s. In 1982 20127 was stored when a large number of the vacuum braked class 20 fleet were stored due to the reduction in coal traffic from pit closures and the continued introduction of air braked MGR coal wagons. 20127 was re-instated in December 1982 following air brake fitment to enable it to operate MGR coal duties and transferred to Eastfield. Withdrawn during the early 1990’s it found a new lease of life with Direct Rail Services and was one of the five heavily refurbished class twenties with which DRS commenced operations in 1995. It is numbered 20303 in the DRS fleet and is currently (May 2009) still operational approaching it’s forty seventh birthday. 20025 entered service as D8025 in 1959. It would survive in traffic until withdrawn in September 1991 and was broken up by MC Metals at Glasgow in February 1995.
The sun is just starting to disperse the early morning mist as 20127 and 20025 crawl out of the haze as they head along the Goods line “round the back” of Wakefield Kirkgate station with a train of 16 ton mineral wagons, 29th January 1976. 20127 was the last of the initial run of class 20 locomotives and entered traffic as D8127 in August 1962 allocated to Polmadie MPD (Glasgow). It was a Scottish based locomotive for a long time (as denoted by the cab recess for single line token exchange equipment) until it moved south to Tinsley in the mid 1970’s. In 1982 20127 was stored when a large number of the vacuum braked class 20 fleet were stored due to the reduction in coal traffic from pit closures and the continued introduction of air braked MGR coal wagons. 20127 was re-instated in December 1982 following air brake fitment to enable it to operate MGR coal duties and transferred to Eastfield. Withdrawn during the early 1990’s it found a new lease of life with Direct Rail Services and was one of the five heavily refurbished class twenties with which DRS commenced operations in 1995. It is numbered 20303 in the DRS fleet and is currently (May 2009) still operational approaching it’s forty seventh birthday. 20025 entered service as D8025 in 1959. It would survive in traffic until withdrawn in September 1991 and was broken up by MC Metals at Glasgow in February 1995.
19th May 2009
1970/80's Modern Image - Type 1's
John's Railway Gallery @ fotopic.net
20184 and 20216 head for Longannet Power Station with a loaded MGR coal train at Dunfermline Lower, 14th April 1977. 20184 was originally D8184 and was built in 1967. It was allocated to Toton from new and was to spend the next six years in the Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire coalfields until 1973 when it and 8179 were transferred from Toton to Scotland and fitted with dual brakes and slow speed control for Longannet MGR circuit duties. It would remain on these duties until the mid 1980’s when following the decline of the coal industry and the growth of imported coal the Longannet traffic patterns changed. It was a relatively early casualty being withdrawn with less than twenty years service in October 1986 and broken up by Vic Berry, Leicester in June 1988. 20216 was originally D8316, built in 1967 and would spend virtually all its career allocated to Edinburgh Haymarket working the Fife coal traffic, although by withdrawal in November 1987 it had migrated to Toton. 20216 was broken up by Vic Berry, Leicester in September 1988.Previous | NextIt was unusual to see single class 20’s around Nottingham but here we have 20044 on its own stabled in Nottingham carriage sidings, 25th January 1976. Originally D8044 it was built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry and entered traffic in November 1959, allocated to Devons Road MPD in Bow, London for cross-London transfer freight duties. On the closure of Devons Road in 1962 it transferred to Willesden. In 1969 it transferred to Toton and I first saw this engine paired with D8045 at Wilford Road, Nottingham on the 3rd April 1969. In 1982 20044 was stored at Leicester, when a large number of Toton’s vacuum braked class 20 fleet were stored due to the reduction in coal traffic from pit closures and the continued introduction of air braked MGR coal wagons. 20044 was re-instated in April 1983 following air brake and slow speed control fitment to enable it to operate MGR coal duties and transferred to Eastfield where it would stay until a move to back to Toton in the late 1980’s. It was withdrawn from Toton in August 1989 and broken up by MC Metals, Glasgow two years later in August 1991.

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