Ruston and Hornsby 165hp Diesel Shunter 11509 Alan
| Ruston and Hornsby 165hp Diesel Shunter 11509 Alan | |
|---|---|
 11509 'Alan' at Bewdley in 1984/85 (David Cooke) | |
| Built By | Ruston & Hornsby |
| Configuration | 0-4-0 |
| Power type | Diesel Mechanical |
| Status | Scrapped |
| Loco Number | 11509 (fictitious) |
| Other Numbers | Works No 414304/1957 |
| Designed By | Ruston & Hornsby |
| Type | DM165 |
| 1980 | Arrived on SVR |
| Technical | |
| Length | 22ft 1in |
| Weight | 28t |
Contents
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[1].
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 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'.[2] 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.[1]
After repainting, 11509 was despatched to Bewdley in December 1980 to be used for shunting.[3] It was also used on engineering trains, including the re-laying of Highley station in December 1984.[2] 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.[4][5] The locomotive was still present on the SVR in June 1998[1] but by summer 2000 had been cannibalised for spares in Kidderminster yard.[2] Some parts were used in the overhaul of ”Red Ruston” 319290 at Kidderminster in spring 1991[6].
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 SVR News 133 p. 62. “The Early SVR Shunters” (Chris Magner)
- ↑ SVR News 28
- ↑ SVR Stock Book Eighth Edition
- ↑ SVR News 100
- ↑ SVR News 133, "The Early SVR shunters", Chris Magner
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