Save 56006 from the scrappie

[yummy125]

This loco should of been saved years ago as it is one of the best well known of it's class & the oldest.

It's only going to cost less than £10,000 to save it. Mega cheap

It will be very sad loss to have it cut up:

http://www.class56group.co.uk/archives/2034

Details below:

The Class 56 Group welcomes recent news of an attempt to preserve long term Barrow Hill resident 56006.

The parties involved include respected individuals from both Barrow Hill and the Class 56 Group, but the Class 56 Group is not directly involved with the project other than to help wherever possible.

The funds necessary have almost been raised and a final sum of less than £10,000 is required to secure the loco from EMR who purchased the loco from the recent DBS tender list.

The loco would be based at Barrow Hill where it has been based for many years following its retirement from EWS service in the EWS Heritage pool. 56006 was the first Class 56 to enter traffic and many people felt she deserved a place in the National collection. The class 56 Group has offered to act as a collection and forwarding agent for any individuals wishing to contribute to the purchase of 56006.

Of course if any individual (or group of individuals ) wants to chip in a significant amount and become part owners of the loco the C56G can always put them in direct touch with the right people.

C56G is unable to join in the project as we have enough on our plate with 56301 to look after but we encourage all Class 56 enthusiasts to donate to the project and we hope it is sucessful in securing 56006.

As the C56G currently has an existing appeal for funds for its own loco 56301 can we ask anyone sending a donation to mark it very clearly for either 56301 or 56006. Donations should be sent to The C56G Treasurer, 61 Tyersal Park, Bradford , West Yorkshire BD4 8EY and Cheques made payable to Class 56 Group.

Of course EMR won’t wait for ever before calling 56006 to Kingsbury or Attercliffe so don’t delay if you feel you can help.

Best Regards

Keith Bulmer

Chairman ,Class 56 Group

 

[90019]

It's only going to cost less than £10,000 to save it. Mega cheap

As it's £10k on top of what they've got, surely that's only to buy it (and presumably to move it)?

 

[Chris125]

Yet another heavy, no heat, air only and largely unremarkable freight loco is just what preserved railways are crying out for...

 

[Harbon 1]

Yet another heavy, no heat, air only and largely unremarkable freight loco is just what preserved railways are crying out for...

56006 was the first class 56 in service, hardly what i'd call 'unremarkable'

 

[theblackwatch]

Yet another heavy, no heat, air only and largely unremarkable freight loco is just what preserved railways are crying out for...

But rather appropriate for Barrow Hill.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Yet another heavy, no heat, air only and largely unremarkable freight loco is just what preserved railways are crying out for...

Bet that is what people said about steamers like the 8F as well, back in the day.

I do however feel that we have to be careful not to try and save too many locos and end up not having enough to get them all running. The £10,000 to keep 56006 just alive could keep 56301 running for several years.

 

[Chris125]

56006 isnt an 8F, and this isnt Barry back in the 70's - there is very little use for such impractical loco's now, and there's no reason for that changing in the future.

Chris

 

[Harbon 1]

56006 isnt an 8F, and this isnt Barry back in the 70's - there is very little use for such impractical loco's now, and there's no reason for that changing in the future.

Chris

Railtours? Open days? Moving other loco's around the country? Barrow Hill 'Super Shunter' type loco?

 

[Chris125]

Railtours? Open days? Moving other loco's around the country? Barrow Hill 'Super Shunter' type loco?

Im quite confident there are enough preserved 56's to do all that, including two mainline certified examples. Another 56 wont create paying work, just spread it thinner.

Chris

 

[Royston Vasey]

Railtours? Open days? Moving other loco's around the country? Barrow Hill 'Super Shunter' type loco?

What's the point in resurrecting a wreck for that? The Fastline 56s would be ample for mainline demand and there are numerous locos for trivial shunting duties.

 

[Harbon 1]

What's the point in resurrecting a wreck for that? The Fastline 56s would be ample for mainline demand and there are numerous locos for trivial shunting duties.

yes but this is the first class 56 that worked. It's like D400 or 55022 about to be brought for scrap, I'm sure someone would do something about that?

 

[Rich_D3167]

Unfortunately, in the history of Railways, Class 56's did very little that stood out from the rest. They were, certainly from a business point of view, just another loco. Sure, they were BR's first dedicated Type 5 locos for heavy freight work, but they did the same job that older Classes had been doing for several years. Same for the Class 58's (excepting the first dedicated heavy freight Type 5's, of course!).

Locos like Deltics do have history behind them: replacing steam on the East Coast Main Line, and being the first locos to introduce a 100mph timetable on the ECML.

Class 56's, as much as I personally like them, weren't the best of locos to begin with for BR (just look at the Romanian batch when they first arrived!). Besides, there are 56's in far better condition than 56006 is in. I know it's the first one to be accepted by BR, but if it's going to cost many thousands of pounds to restore it, when an alternative can be done much cheaper, is it worth it?

 

[GearJammer]

Oldest 56? Not that im aware of, 56003 is older, its just running round with another number now 56311 0r 312 i believe.
Personally im not that fussed if its saved or not, but, given the amount of time and money people have given to keep it in operational condition since its storage by EWS it would be a shame to see it go for scrap.

 

[Harbon 1]

Oldest 56? Not that im aware of, 56003 is older, its just running round with another number now 56311 0r 312 i believe.
Personally im not that fussed if its saved or not, but, given the amount of time and money people have given to keep it in operational condition since its storage by EWS it would be a shame to see it go for scrap.

Its not the oldest, just the first accepted into br service

 

[northernrail]

If this one is going to be preserved, can we scrap one of the other 6 exactly the same class 56's?

 

[37372]

One of the preserved 56s, 56101, is now being exported for work abroad with Europhoenix.

 

[ukrob]

Im quite confident there are enough preserved 56's to do all that, including two mainline certified examples. Another 56 wont create paying work, just spread it thinner.

Chris

Totally agree with this. Once work is spread too thin you can't afford the upkeep anymore.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Diesels dont pay as well as steam in terms of preservation, youll struggle to get a family to ride behind a 56 all day. A jinty though and your in the money. (i am talking generally of course some families would love to sit behind a 56....)

Lots of 56s already preserved i dont think we need another one, they were not exceptional. Lots of steam and diesel only have 1 or 2 left. Means they earn more money as some say another preserved is just spreading work thinner.

 

[37705]

Not mentioned so far is that saving this one would mean one of the Romanian built 56's being saved. Of course, had 56003 not been de-preserved, then yes, this would have been a questionable loco to try and save.

 

[northernrail]

Pardon my ignorance, but why is it special because it was built in another countrie?

 

[37705]

Well put it this way - saving it IMO is of more historical importance than saving, for example, another one built in the UK. Which is what we have had with the endless preservation of slightly anonymous 47's, 50's, etc, etc. There is at least some sort of interest factor surrounding it that you don't get with, say, 50030.

 

[GearJammer]

Well put it this way - saving it IMO is of more historical importance than saving, for example, another one built in the UK. Which is what we have had with the endless preservation of slightly anonymous 47's, 50's, etc, etc. There is at least some sort of interest factor surrounding it that you don't get with, say, 50030.

Thats a matter of opinion... ive far more interest in 50030 than 56006, in fact ive far more interest in ANY class 50 than ANY 56, but each to there own, as far as im concerned if whoever wants to preserve 56006 has the cash and willing to do so, then good luck to them, same goes for any loco, regardless of class and how many of that class has already been preserved.

You would'nt tell someone in a shop what to spend there money on so why would any railway enthusiast tell another enthusiast what to spend there money on!

 

[sprinterguy]

Pardon my ignorance, but why is it special because it was built in another countrie?

There was only a small batch of thirty class 56s (The first 30) contracted out to be built in Romania, Doncaster & Crewe built the rest. This suggests them to be a sub-variety of class 56 which it is felt by many (including myself) that an example of should be preserved, even though the build quality of the Romanian locos is generally held to be shoddier than the rest and hence will probably cost more to maintain in preservation!

 

[zn1]

I wouldnt pay 500 quid for a class 56, it would have to be given to me !!

class 56 was the natural progression of a freight only class 47, it is nothing but a essentially a jazzed up 47 with no ETH and thankfully NO VACUUM

so 006 was the 1st in revenue earning service....plenty of em still in traffic so the class isnt extinct on the mainline...

if it was so significan it would be pr dibs put on it to be donated to the national collection...

as i said nought special

the class 58 is superior to 56 in so many ways and its a crime they are being scrapped

 

[sprinterguy]

56s were much more versatile and widespread than 58s, so it's no surprise if they are more popular candidates for preservation than 58s are.

The 58s didn't do anything new or exciting either if the 56s role in giving the coal sector a dedicated fleet of capable Type 5 locomotives isnt being considered as significant, and were limited to a small geographical area for a fair proportion of their short lives, hauling coal trains around the Midlands. They are more historically noteworthy than the 56s for the nature of their construction, being BRELs' modular loco (with hopes of export orders) and the last diesel locomotive built by BREL.

There's hardly a great number of 56s still at work on the main line at the moment; just two; youll find more 58s still at work on the continent, despite the fact that many involved in high speed line construction in France and Spain have now been stored.

I'm sure the class 58 preservation movement will gain more momentum once locos begin to return from the continent; many of those that remained in the UK were those in worst condition that had been stripped of most usable parts for use on their sister locos that have been shipped abroad. But with 58016 already preserved and 58050 earmarked for a place in the National Collection, there's probably not a huge need for a great many more preserved examples out of a class of 50, in the same way as the market for preserved class 56s is probably nearing, or already at its point of saturation.

It does surprise me how many 56s have already drifted in and out of preservation: 56057 and 56003 back onto the main line as 56311 and 56312 respectively, 56101 seemingly off to work abroad and 56040 "Oystermouth" scrapped in exchange for 56301. Actually, with that in mind, how many 56s are on preserved railways at the moment?

 

[455driver]

yes but this is the first class 56 that worked. It's like D400 or 55022 about to be brought for scrap, I'm sure someone would do something about that?

55022 wasnt the first one in service that honour fell to D9001 (55001) which was one of the first 2 deltics to be withdrawn and scrapped. 55022 (D9000) was delayed awaiting fitment of its strobe headlights.

56006 should be preserved as it is in original (and reasonable) condition but being the first in service is not a good enough reason to preserve it, it should be bought purely on its condition.

If you dont believe me just look at all the wrecks littering siding space that were bought "because it worked a railtour I was on " or "I bought it because it was the first one I saw".
Some of these have not had any real work carried out on them since being bought, some have had a little work done but time/ money/ enthusiasm has run out, others have had huge amounts of work carried out and are a credit to the owners.
Preservation is a hard enough job if you have the money, manpower and time but without these 3 it is all but impossible as the locos condition will deteriorate over time if money and time are not spent just to keep the loco in the same condition as purchased.

I love the "A N other loco bought out of a scrapyard" and some of the first posts will inevitably be "what colour will it be" and another will be "they bought it 2 weeks ago when will it be working". If these people would like to get down there helping out then it will be ready quicker but the number of people willing/ able to put the time in is very small but without the hands on deck the loco will never be ready.

 

[Harbon 1]

55022 wasnt the first one in service that honour fell to D9001

I didnt know that D9001 was the first earner, i only used it as an example for the first ones built

 

[60163]

couldn't that money restore one of the Barrow Hill peaks? or go to the Baby Deltic? or the Brighton Belle? I like grids but c'mon now...

 

[317666]

If you think about how many unrestored locos there are lying around and gathering rust, surely it would make sense to get the unrestored ones back into working order (or at least as static exhibits) before buying more?

 

[GearJammer]

couldn't that money restore one of the Barrow Hill peaks? or go to the Baby Deltic? or the Brighton Belle? I like grids but c'mon now...

Yes the money could be spent on them, but im guessing the people that want to preserve 56006 prefer class 56's to Peaks, Deltics and the Brighton Belle, as i said above, each to there own!
All my cash goes towards 2 class 50's, because thats what i like....50's, i could give money towards other things (like Peaks, Deltics, the Cl15, Cl23 etc etc) but why would i if im not as interested in them, i like 50's, thats where my cash goes, im sure the guys that like 56's feel the same! Like i said, each to there own, we all have are favourite types of traction, if they want to preserve 56006 and they have the time and money, then good luck to them, who are we to say their doing the wrong thing!

Im sure people probably said the same about 50026 once.... look how thats turned out!