7663 / 25313

Above: 25313 approaches Glyndyfrdwy on a damp diesel gala in April 1998. (Dave Southern)

A slightly more powerful version of the class 24, our example of a 'Rat' was built by Derby in 1966, and was delivered to London Division in blue with yellow ends. It was built as D7663 when Derby took over the last batch of Beyer-Peacock orders (batch D7660 to 7677) when that company went into bankruptcy. It was the first outshopped in the new corporate blue livery.

7663's initial allocation was to Willesden for Euston empty stock and Willesden trip workings, including inter-regional trips along the North London line. Transfers to D01 were to Willesden for these workings; transfers to D02 was to Bescot for local trip workings in the Birmingham and Wolverhampton area.

A further transfer to Cricklewood was for St Pancras empty stock duties and local trips between Cricklewood and Bedford, including inter regional freight along the North London line. After moves to Wigan and Toton, its transfer back to Cricklewood in 1978 was as replacement for Class 31/4s. These were released from Cricklewood empty stock duties by new loco workings utilising locos on fill-in turns between duties. 25313 also worked Forders Sidings - Garston Brickliner which accounts for occasional transfers between Cricklewood and Wigan; perhaps this duty was a method of swapping locos between the two depots.

Above: Running round at Llangollen station on a very damp day. (Alan Newble)

25313 was purchased by member Martin Bell and brought to Llangollen in June 1988, initially as a source of spares for sister 25279, but later restored to working order in its own right. A visit to Vic Berry's scrapyard in Leicester was needed before delivery to Llangollen to remove asbestos insulation. Several years after sister 25279 was returned to traffic, 25313 took its turn, with the first power-up in January 1993, followed shortly by movement under its own power the following month. By October it had received a repaint into blue with full yellow ends, its as-delivered condition, and the headcode boxes had been reinstated.

It served well for several years, being named Chirk Castle / Castell y Waun by the National Trust in 1996. Eventually it became due for a major engine overhaul during 1997, finished just in time for the October diesel gala that year. However fate intervened, and one traction motor flashed over, sidelining it once more for a short while. Since then it has been used on passenger turns during gala weekends, and also on engineering trains. It is owned by the Llangollen diesel group.

General Info

Built

BR Derby, 1966

Lot no.

???

Engine

Sulzer 6LDA28B of 1250hp at 750rpm

Transmission

Electric - four AEI 253AY axle-hung motors

Power at Rail

949hp

Tractive Effort

45000lbf max; 20800lbf cont at 17.1mph

Wheels

Bo-Bo

Weight

72-76t

Max Speed

90mph

Train Brakes

Vacuum and air

Train Heat

None

Depot Allocations

London Division

D01

26/11/1966

Birmingham Division

D02

12/1968

London Division

D01

05/1971

Cricklewood

CW

05/1973

TOPS number 25313

03/1974

Toton

TO

11/1977

Wigan Springs Branch

SP

02/1978

Cricklewood

CW

07/1978

Longsight

LO

22/01/1984

Crewe

CD

01/07/1984

Bescot

BS

08/07/1984

Crewe

CD

30/09/1985

Withdrawn

18/03/1987

Llangollen

June 1988

This locomotive is owned and operated by the diesel group.

Transferred 11th Sept 2007 by  John Rutter- email webmaster