Class 14 no. D9531 at Bury Castlecroft Sidings, ELR. 1989.
One of the shorter lived of the British Railways modernisation plan class of locomotives, the class 14's. They were largely surplus to requirement when completed as their intended use for local trip work and pick up freights were rapidly vanishing from the railway network in the mid 1960's as the road haulage industry took work from the railways.
D9531 was new to Cardiff Canton Depot (86A) on 02/02/1965 but soon moved to Swansea Llandore Depot in May 1965 before another move the same year in December 1965 to Bristol Bath Road Depot. It work out of Bristol for a year before returning to its first depot, Cardiff Canton in December 1966. By May 1967 it was game over for D9531 just 2 years and 3 months BR service and it was stored out of use at Worcester Shrub Hill Yard. Official withdrawal followed the same year on 30/12/1967. The National Coal Board and several other large industrial concerns took an interest in the nearly new 650hp locomotives and bought numerous examples direct from BR but D9531 was sold from its location at Worcester to W.H. Arncott Young scrap merchants at Parkgate, Rotherham in May 1968. The loco arrived a few months later but never got broken up and was instead resold to the NCB. Unlike many of its class mates that went direct to the extensive NCB Ashington system in Northumberland D9531 went to the NCBOE British Oak opencast mine at Crigglestone in West Yorkshire. It spent 5 years in Yorkshire before moving to the NCB North East Area initially at Burradon Colliery before ending up in February 1974 at the NCB Ashington system where a large fleet of ex BR class 14's were based. Its career with the NCB ended in 1987 when it was laid up at Ashington and sold the same year to C.F. Booths scrapyard, Rotherham. Thankfully it's appointment with the gas axe never came and instead it was resold by Booth's into preservation and arrived at its new home on the East Lancs Railway in October 1987.
Two years after entering preservation D9531 is seen resplendent in BR two tone green livery stabled in Bury Castlecroft Sidings with a BTU departmental coach.
Class 14 no. D9531 at Bury Castlecroft Sidings, ELR. 1989.
One of the shorter lived of the British Railways modernisation plan class of locomotives, the class 14's. They were largely surplus to requirement when completed as their intended use for local trip work and pick up freights were rapidly vanishing from the railway network in the mid 1960's as the road haulage industry took work from the railways.
D9531 was new to Cardiff Canton Depot (86A) on 02/02/1965 but soon moved to Swansea Llandore Depot in May 1965 before another move the same year in December 1965 to Bristol Bath Road Depot. It work out of Bristol for a year before returning to its first depot, Cardiff Canton in December 1966. By May 1967 it was game over for D9531 just 2 years and 3 months BR service and it was stored out of use at Worcester Shrub Hill Yard. Official withdrawal followed the same year on 30/12/1967. The National Coal Board and several other large industrial concerns took an interest in the nearly new 650hp locomotives and bought numerous examples direct from BR but D9531 was sold from its location at Worcester to W.H. Arncott Young scrap merchants at Parkgate, Rotherham in May 1968. The loco arrived a few months later but never got broken up and was instead resold to the NCB. Unlike many of its class mates that went direct to the extensive NCB Ashington system in Northumberland D9531 went to the NCBOE British Oak opencast mine at Crigglestone in West Yorkshire. It spent 5 years in Yorkshire before moving to the NCB North East Area initially at Burradon Colliery before ending up in February 1974 at the NCB Ashington system where a large fleet of ex BR class 14's were based. Its career with the NCB ended in 1987 when it was laid up at Ashington and sold the same year to C.F. Booths scrapyard, Rotherham. Thankfully it's appointment with the gas axe never came and instead it was resold by Booth's into preservation and arrived at its new home on the East Lancs Railway in October 1987.
Two years after entering preservation D9531 is seen resplendent in BR two tone green livery stabled in Bury Castlecroft Sidings with a BTU departmental coach.