Class 03's Last Stand

[RichmondCommu]

G'day everyone,

I'm interested to know which locations were the final homes of the class 03's. Back in the day when I was a 'spotter I loved them for their quirky looks but sadly my notebooks were lost many years a go. I seem to remember that Norwich Crown Point and Gateshead had an allocation in the early 1980's. I also remember seeing one at Bradford Interchange which I'm guessing must have been based at Hammerton Street?

If anyone can help with this I would be very grateful!

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[alex17595]

03179 is still going at Hornsey Depot!

 

[RichmondCommu]

03179 is still going at Hornsey Depot!

Yes sorry I forgot to mention that! I blame that on a couple of pints after work and my wife's excellent cooking! Heaven knows where they get the spares from to keep the thing running!

 

[Genocide]

03179 is knackered at Hornsey and is currently for sale. Hasn't worked since it blew up at Nene Valley.

It probably was the last operational 03 though, and for some time as it lived at Ryde.

Last prior to that was 059, which it replaced at Ryde.

Last mainland depot with an 03 allocation was GD.

 

[RichmondCommu]

03179 is knackered at Hornsey and is currently for sale. Hasn't worked since it blew up at Nene Valley.

It probably was the last operational 03 though, and for some time as it lived at Ryde.

Last prior to that was 059, which it replaced at Ryde.

Last mainland depot with an 03 allocation was GD.

Many thanks for this. Any ideas as to why the 03's were able to hang around for so long at Gateshead?

 

[bronzeonion]

Our reliable little workhorse 03170 at North Weald on the EOR I think was based at Gateshead till it was withdrawn though there are some photos of it shunting some wagons somewhere in Liverpool in the 80's.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Our reliable little workhorse 03170 at North Weald on the EOR I think was based at Gateshead till it was withdrawn though there are some photos of it shunting some wagons somewhere in Liverpool in the 80's.

Many thanks for this! I'm wondering if 03170 was perhaps based at Birkenhead to work in and around the docks.

 

[455driver]

Many thanks for this. Any ideas as to why the 03's were able to hang around for so long at Gateshead?

Plenty of lines with light axle loads and very tight curves which were unsuitable for 08s, most of them were soon closed to rail as the wagonload freight they produced was not cost effective to carry on rail.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Plenty of lines with light axle loads and very tight curves which were unsuitable for 08s, most of them were soon closed to rail as the wagonload freight they produced was not cost effective to carry on rail.

Thanks for this. That would explain Birkenhead but necessarily Gateshead or Norwich.

 

[bronzeonion]

Many thanks for this! I'm wondering if 03170 was perhaps based at Birkenhead to work in and around the docks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/360349...7T3-ftX8rs-asqyjv-gwfFZ6-4qmhLo-buFpmx-gSe9zn

Ah yes looks like final base was Birkenhead, was getting confused by pics taken before it's last overhaul which were at Newcastle. You can tell as before it's last overhaul it had yellow bufferbeams but afterwards they were black as you can see in that picture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/701312...4XK-gGEr7x-gG7C7a-gDQE41-gxRJR2-gwmfUd-gvZHgK

And there it is now, very much a working locomotive still pulling as much weight as it would have done but rather than marshalling wagons, it mainly moves locomotives around the yard these days.

 

[455driver]

Thanks for this. That would explain Birkenhead but necessarily Gateshead or Norwich.

Newcastle had a lot of small industrial/ coal merchant etc lines in the late 70s/ early 80s, plus they preferred them as station pilots at Newcastle Central.

 

[43167]

079 was based on the Isle of wight at the same time as 179, though both spent afew years out of use at Sandown and Ryde St Johns respectively, before been returned to the mainland. 079 for preservation & 179 with WAGN/FCC.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Newcastle had a lot of small industrial/ coal merchant etc lines in the late 70s/ early 80s, plus they preferred them as station pilots at Newcastle Central.

Many thanks for your post. I'm curious to know why the class 03's were preferred as station pilots; any ideas? I'm assuming here that they were quicker off the mark than the 08's?

 

[455driver]

I have no idea, I think it was just because they had plenty of them, my Winter 1981 platform 5 Pocket Book (including depot allocation section) lists 10x03s and 22x08s allocated to Gateshead so it certainly wasnt more 03s allocated. It might have simply been 'because we always use 03s' as the reason, if it aint broke dont fix it.

Every time I went to Newcastle it was always 2x03s on pilot duty (one vacuum braked and the other dual braked) both with shunters trolleys attached, they certainly weren't overworked during the day thats for sure so maybe it was because the 08s were used at busy locations.

 

[theblackwatch]

Better visibility perhaps?

 

[1s06pilot]

Many thanks for your post. I'm curious to know why the class 03's were preferred as station pilots; any ideas? I'm assuming here that they were quicker off the mark than the 08's?

Lincoln Central used one as a station pilot. There was also one at Boston Docks.
Barrow Hill used them for shunting at Staveley ironworks:

 

[Taunton]

At Taunton in the 1960s we had Class 08 D4163-5, and Class 03 D2133/40-42.

In practice the 03s never had any diagrams at Taunton itself, and were all kept down at Bridgwater, whereas the 08s stayed around Taunton. Bridgwater had quite a number of factories, docks, and industrial premises in those days with tight curves, whereas Taunton had none of these and the shunters were mainly used within the various marshalling yards and for passenger stock pilots. This actually reflected what had been the case in steam days, when a couple of lightweight tanks were on the Taunton allocation, but likewise spent their time at Bridgwater.

One of the Bridgwater 03s would occasionally waddle down the main line, light, to Taunton, for fitters attention and servicing. It generally turned up mid-afternoon. I've read they weren't allowed on the main line on their own because of track circuit unreliable operation, but there was no issue with this move it seems.

From Taunton we moved to be on the Wirral lines near Birkenhead, and so got to pass regularly that one which worked the coal concentration yard built in the late 1960s next to the electric mu depot at Birkenhead North - this loco appears in a couple of the linked photographs. I believe it also worked the docks, but spent almost all its time stabled at the coal depot.

 

[03_179]

03179 is knackered at Hornsey and is currently for sale. Hasn't worked since it blew up at Nene Valley.

Currently sittong on 24 road behind the offices but out of viiew of the public.

See my mytwitter and blog for a photo

 

[ChiefPlanner]

We had a few at Ipswich in 1980 something for docks work and shunting parcels stock.

I personally caused the withdrawal of the B/head ones - as they had zero work (but got one sold for a fair price to the terminal at Ordsall Lane where it had work) -circa 1987/8.

They lingered , working in triplicate at Llanelli for the BP+GV line - till replaced by cut down class 08's.

 

[Frosticles]

Have fond memories of the Lincoln 03's

 

[Ploughman]

Seem to recall there being some at Scarborough around 1976.

 

[Bright Boy]

What about the two 03's at Carnforth, West Coast Railways is a national operator, albeit not with regular services, not a preserved line, would those two count ? are they still running ?

 

[RichmondCommu]

Seem to recall there being some at Scarborough around 1976.

You have a good memory! They were employed as station pilots complete with a match truck.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

What about the two 03's at Carnforth, West Coast Railways is a national operator, albeit not with regular services, not a preserved line, would those two count ? are they still running ?

For the purposes of this thread yes I would say that they still count! As to whether they are still running only those who have access to Carnforth could answer that!

 

[Genocide]

What about the two 03's at Carnforth, West Coast Railways is a national operator, albeit not with regular services, not a preserved line, would those two count ? are they still running ?

I'd say no - they're not going to be NR registered, whereas 03179 presumably is.

 

[Bright Boy]

I'd say no - they're not going to be NR registered, whereas 03179 presumably is.

Does it matter if they're NR registered, Class 03's did not work goods or passenger trains up and down any lines, just worked in yards or depots or at freight sites.

So if they are working in a depot for a Rail company that serves the network, for that is what the former "Steamtown" is now. They may have been preserved for a while but now they are back doing the job they were built for, if they are still running?

 

[D841 Roebuck]

According to my old OPC Spotters Companion, there were 58 03s in service in Autumn 1979.

They were based at:
Gateshead (12)
Swansea Landore (8)
Norwich (6)
Colchester (6)
Stratford (6)
Lincoln (4)
Darlington (3)
Hull Botanic Gardens (3)
March (3)
Barrow Hill (2)
Bradford Hammerton Street (2)
Bristol Bath Road (2)
York (1)

A quick totting up indicates that 31 of the 56 still exist today (plus several others which were withdrawn from BR service before 1979) - a testament to their usefulness for light duties.

 

[bishdunster]

Does it matter if they're NR registered, Class 03's did not work goods or passenger trains up and down any lines, just worked in yards or depots or at freight sites.

So if they are working in a depot for a Rail company that serves the network, for that is what the former "Steamtown" is now. They may have been preserved for a while but now they are back doing the job they were built for, if they are still running?

Oh yes they did !!! In the 1970s we had a regular working from Bournemouth Goods yard to Hamworthy Goods , main line Bmth - Ham Jct

 

[D841 Roebuck]

Oh yes they did !!! In the 1970s we had a regular working from Bournemouth Goods yard to Hamworthy Goods , main line Bmth - Ham Jct

I'll add to that the locos outstationed at Scarborough and Berwick-on-Tweed. In the days before idiotic track access charging regimes, their transfer to and from the outstation would be by rail. Presumably the extra speed of 03 versus 08 (28mph vs 20mph) was a factor in their selection for these duties?

 

[D6975]

Oh yes they did !!! In the 1970s we had a regular working from Bournemouth Goods yard to Hamworthy Goods , main line Bmth - Ham Jct

IIRC they also used to work the boat train down to Weymouth Quay.

 

[Taunton]

One of the main advantages of the 03 leading to its longevity is that it was built out of standard automotive parts. The engine is a straightforward Gardner as installed in many buses and trucks of the era, while the transmission is again standard SCG from buses (in particular) and trucks, and indeed most DMUs of the period. Although out of production, both engine and transmission are still readily overhauled for the road transport industry and have spares available off the shelf.

Leyland and AEC bus/truck engines went into most DMUs, but I've often wondered why the equally ubiquitous and comparable Gardner never did, although it was used in most of the smaller shunters from different manufacturers.