BR Class 09 D4100
| BR Class 09 D4100 | |
|---|---|
 June 2015, newly re-numbered D4100 | |
| Built By | BR Horwich Works |
| Configuration | 0-6-0 |
| Power type | Diesel Electrical |
| Status | Operational |
| Loco Number | D4100 |
| Other Numbers | 09012 |
| History | |
| Built | 1961 |
| Designed By | BR |
| Type | Class 09 |
| 2013 | Arrived on SVR |
| Technical | |
| Length | 29ft 3in |
| Weight | 49t |
D4100 Dick Hardy is a Class 09 0-6-0 350hp diesel electric shunting locomotive. The Class 09 is similar to the Class 08, of which the SVR has a number of examples, but having different gearing giving an increased top speed of 27.5 mph at the expense of a lower tractive effort. D4100 was one of the 26 locomotives originally built as a Class 09; later classified as Class 09/0 to distinguish them from other Class 09s which were rebuilt from Class 08s.
Contents
D4100 in main line service
D4100 was built at Horwich Works and entered BR service in September 1961 at Ashford (73F), before being allocated to its sub-shed Ashford Chart Leacon in February 1966 and later moving to Feltham in July 1967. The locomotive was fitted with air brakes a year later before another move to Selhurst in July 1970.
In January 1974 D4100 became No 09012 under the TOPS numbering scheme.[1]
Other depots at which the locomotive served included Old Oak Common and Crewe.[2] 09012 appeared at BR Open Days at Stewarts Lane (10 April 1988) and Woking 150 (28-29 May 1988), being named as 'Dick Hardy' at the former.[3][4]
09012 was withdrawn on 31 July 2010.
D4100 in preservation
D4100 arrived on the SVR from Barrow Hill on 22 February 2013, having been purchased from the Harry Needle Railroad Company by SVR(H), supported by the Guarantee Company who contributed half the £40,000 purchase price.[2][5] The locomotive was numbered 09012 and was in departmental grey livery at the time.
Some mechanical work was undertaken, before external restoration. By spring 2014 bodywork repairs and painting were in progress at Kidderminster.[6] It saw use before restoration was complete, however, and an early duty was to help clear the site for building the Diesel Depot in 2014. It had its 'Dick Hardy' nameplates refitted in December 2014[7] and was repainted into BR Green livery by early 2015.
On 28 May 2015 Richard 'Dick' Hardy visited the SVR at Kidderminster where he met 09012 and some of the team who restored her The locomotive re-entered service in June 2015 having reverted to the earlier number of D4100, although was failed again shortly afterwards with loose horn guide rivets - a hitherto unknown fault.[8] After repairs were completed, D4100 spent time with Permanent Way and Carriage and Wagon covering for their Ruston shunter. On Sunday 23 October 2016 the Northern Belle carriage set arrived at Kidderminster for cleaning and maintenance, with D4100 completing the shunt into the set's usual location alongside the carriage shed.[9]
In early 2023 it was stopped for a top end repair, where it was found that two cylinder heads were cracked.
Although not designed for such use, its ability to operate at line speed means that from time to time it operates, either singly or with BR Class 09 09107, on booked shuttle workings at Diesel galas or as a 'Thunderbird' rescue locomotive.
Numbered 09012 in April 2015
The locomotive is normally based at Kidderminster where it regularly carries out shunting duties.
Richard 'Dick' Hardy
Richard 'Dick' Hardy, the railwayman, enthusiast and author after whom the locomotive was named, was born at Leatherhead, Surrey, on October 8, 1923. He signed on as an LNER premium apprentice at Doncaster in 1942 and became acting shedmaster at South Lynn when aged just 22. He ran five other major depots before he was 35, and then oversaw the changeover from steam to modern traction on the busy Stratford district of the Eastern Region. As a Divisional Manager with BR he was in control of the East Coast Main Line from London to Grantham as head of the newly created King’s Cross Division, and subsequently head of British Rail’s Liverpool Division.
After retiring in 1982 at the age of 59, he took on a host of advisory and honorary roles in the heritage field including chairmanship of the Steam Locomotive Operators Association. He wrote a number of railway books and articles, including Beeching: Champion of the Railway?, and Bert Hooker: Legendary Railwayman. A book of his photographs, A Life on the Lines: A railwayman's album, was published in 2012. Dick Hardy died on 18 February 2018, aged 94[10][11].
See also
References
- ↑ BRDatabase website
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SVR News 181
- ↑ BR Open Days website (retrieved 6 September 2019)
- ↑ rail.uk website (retrieved 6 September 2019)
- ↑ SVRT News 182, Boardroom Notes
- ↑ SVR News 185
- ↑ SVR "Meet The Loco" web page
- ↑ SVR News 192
- ↑ SVR News 196
- ↑ The Railway Hub, Obituary
- ↑ Amazon
Links
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