View source for Ruston and Hornsby 165hp Diesel Shunter 11509 Alan

{{Infobox diesel loco
|image      = Shunter 11509 Alan Bewdley.jpg
|caption    = 11509 'Alan' at Bewdley in 1984/85 (David Cooke)
|construc   = Ruston & Hornsby
|wheels     = 0-4-0
|power      = Diesel Mechanical
|status     = Scrapped
|locono     = 11509 (fictitious)
|othernos   = Works No 414304/1957
|designed   = Ruston & Hornsby
|locotype   = DM165
|built      = 
|years1     = 1980
|events1    = Arrived on SVR
|length     = 22ft 1in
|weight     = 28t
}}’Alan’ was one of a number of Ruston and Hornsby 165 h.p. diesel shunters acquired by the SVR. It arrived in 1980 but saw limited use and was eventually cannibalised for spares. 

==11509 in Service==
The locomotive was built by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln as Works No 414304 of 1957. It was delivered new to the Patent Shaft Steelworks at Wednesbury where it remained for 23 years<ref name=SB9>SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition</ref>.

==11509 in Preservation==
The locomotive was one of four acquired from Patent Shaft, and was at the time considered the best of the bunch. It was purchased by the [[Severn Valley Railway Association|SVRA (South East) Branch]] for £1,000 and was delivered to Bridgnorth on 22 October 1980. It was repainted from its original BSC yellow into black with an early BR emblem and given the fictitious BR number 11509 and red backed name plates bearing the name 'Alan'.<ref name=SVR133>SVR News 133 p. 62. “The Early SVR Shunters” (Chris Magner)</ref> Two other members of the class saw service with BR as numbers 11507/8, later D2957/8, and a number of the SVR's Rustons were given fictitious numbers in the sequence that followed.<ref name=SB9/>  

After repainting, 11509 was despatched to Bewdley in December 1980 to be used for shunting.<ref>SVR News 28</ref>  It was also used on engineering trains, including the re-laying of [[Highley| Highley station]] in December 1984.<ref name=SVR133/> However it was not equipped with vacuum brakes which restricted its use. A plan was put in place to fit these and some preliminary work was carried out, but the job was not completed and 11509 spent a period stored out of use at various locations along the line. It was briefly put back into service after renovation at Kidderminster by a team led by Mervyn Trigg, but the arrival of more powerful Class 08 diesels rendered the Rustons redundant and by 1990 11509 was no longer in use.<ref>SVR Stock Book Eighth Edition</ref><ref>SVR News 100</ref> The locomotive was still present on the SVR in June 1998<ref name=SB9/> but by summer 2000 had been cannibalised for spares in Kidderminster yard.<ref name=SVR133/> Some parts were used in the overhaul of [[Ruston and Hornsby 165hp Diesel Shunter 319290|”Red Ruston” 319290]] at Kidderminster in spring 1991<ref>SVR News 133, "''The Early SVR shunters''", Chris Magner</ref>.

== See also ==
*[[Former Residents#Diesel locomotives|Former Residents]]
*[[Diesel Locomotives]]

==References==
<references />

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