RES "New" 47/7s

[tiptoptaff]

Hi all

Doing some research for a weathering and renumbering project, for a RES 47/7

Which, if any, were allocated to Canton, Newport, Swansea etc? And if none were, regulars on the South Wales post and parcels in the 1990/1993 era.

Thanks all

 

[Helvellyn]

None of the RES 47/7s were allocated to Canton.

At sectorisation the then Parcels sector had 47/4s allocated to Crewe Diesel, Bristol Bath Road, Stratford and Eastfield. Gradually concentrated down to just Bath Road and Crewe, and by the time RES came about all were based at Crewe (Bath Road being an InterCity depot).

So any of the RES 47/7s (47721 upwards) could have been seen in South Wales.

 

[tiptoptaff]

None of the RES 47/7s were allocated to Canton.

At sectorisation the then Parcels sector had 47/4s allocated to Crewe Diesel, Bristol Bath Road, Stratford and Eastfield. Gradually concentrated down to just Bath Road and Crewe, and by the time RES came about all were based at Crewe (Bath Road being an InterCity depot).

So any of the RES 47/7s (47721 upwards) could have been seen in South Wales.

I did suspect that might have been the case, had a nagging in the back of my brain they were all Crewe locos at a point

Thanks for the info

 

[Helvellyn]

I did suspect that might have been the case, had a nagging in the back of my brain they were all Crewe locos at a point

Thanks for the info

No problem. You'll have had some locos operating off Bristol Barton Hill for a period of time, with minor exams undertaken there. I'm not sure how often locos were returned to Crewe Diesel for maintenance but the best bet would be hoping someone has spotting records from the early 1990s with locos/formations giving you real examples to model.

1990-93 was a period of transformation and RES itself wasn't launched until October 1991. I'm not sure when the first 47/7 conversions (RES batch) were but initial locos to get RES colours were still just 47/4s. It might not have been until at least 1993 that the 47/7s emerged. So depending exactly when you're modelling many 47/s would habe been in the earlier Parcels Red/Grey or other colours (revised large logo, mainline or original InterCity).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2025 ==

https://web.archive.org/web/20230116184602/http://www.class47.co.uk/ would be a good starting point to try identify particular locos you could model.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Thanks for this, I'll check the website out!

I'm not modelling a particular era, but I've got 2 of the same 47/7 already in RES, so one needs a new number!

 

[The exile]

Don’t remember ever encountering one on the Cardiff -Paddington turn that was worked by a Parcels 47 in the summer of 1991. However, I don’t think the re numbering had started at that point - with 47/7 being confined to its original meaning.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Don’t remember ever encountering one on the Cardiff -Paddington turn that was worked by a Parcels 47 in the summer of 1991. However, I don’t think the re numbering had started at that point - with 47/7 being confined to its original meaning.

Based on the above, I would think they'd have been far more likely on the Cardiff-Glasgow TPO?

 

[Siemens Staines]

Don’t remember ever encountering one on the Cardiff -Paddington turn that was worked by a Parcels 47 in the summer of 1991. However, I don’t think the re numbering had started at that point - with 47/7 being confined to its original meaning.

My first journeys behind the 'new' 47/7 were both in December 1993 which I seem to recall was soon after they had been renumbered. Don't forget that five of the original 47/7 were initially transferred from Scotrail to Parcels (47703,704,706,712,717) before joining their brethren at NSE to allow the Class 50s to be eliminated in 1992. Of these five, 47704 received RES livery in late 1991. 47703,712,717 retained the original red parcels livery and 47706 was never repainted from Scotrail.

 

[Helvellyn]

Wasn't the second 47/7 series to identify locos that had received heavy overhaul (or in some cases resurrection/restoration from scrap condition!), and that were fitted with control cables to allow them to work with Propelling Control Vehicles. This was primarily into/out of the Princess Royal Distribution Centre at Wembley Yard, which ended parcels workings to/from London passenger terminal stations as part of the Railnet programme. That also saw the introduction of Super GUVs and Super BGs, with all windows plated over and roller shutter doors, plus the introduction of the York mail trolleys to minimise manual handling of mail bags at stations.

 

[Adrian Barr]

This RAIL article might be useful: https://www.railmagazine.com/trains/heritage/propelling-the-main

Looking in my old platform 5 books, the 47/7s don't appear until the 1994 combined volume, although I've noted down seeing 47774 in the back of the 1993 one.

This fits in with the RAIL article stating the first Res 47/7 to be renumbered was 47774 on November 16 1993.

It also mentions 47704 was modified to work with PCVs for the initial testing.

The platform 5 books for 1994 and 1995 shown the RES 47/7 conversions all together in the PXLB pool allocated to Crewe Diesel.

 

[xotGD]

My first journeys behind the 'new' 47/7 were both in December 1993 which I seem to recall was soon after they had been renumbered. Don't forget that five of the original 47/7 were initially transferred from Scotrail to Parcels (47703,704,706,712,717) before joining their brethren at NSE to allow the Class 50s to be eliminated in 1992. Of these five, 47704 received RES livery in late 1991. 47703,712,717 retained the original red parcels livery and 47706 was never repainted from Scotrail.

See post 145 over in the "Back in the Day" thread for some photos of some of these in action at Salisbury.