RCE Heavy Duty Diesel Electric Crane. DRS 81332.
British Railways ordered seven 10 ton capacity rail mounted cranes for civil engineering works from established crane manufacturer Thomas Smith Ltd of Rodley, Leeds. All seven were for use on the BR Southern Region with four delivered in 1959 and three in 1962. They were delivered with BR engineers department numbers DB 965153 - DB 965156 and DB 965171 - DB 965173 with purpose built jib match wagons in the DB 9985xx range. With the advent of the BR civil engineers plant numbering scheme in 1974 the cranes were renumbered DRS 81330 to DRS 81336.
The example seen here in Leyton CMD Yard is DRS 81332 (ex DB 965155) which was Thomas Smith works no. 24612 of 1959. Its two purpose built match wagons being DB 998511 and DB 998512 which had originally worked with sister crane DRS 81334. Its working career was mostly based out of Eastleigh Pre Assembly Depot until April 1988 when it was transferred to the Anglia Region at Leyton but went into store as a serviceable spare until March 1991. It then returned to the Southern Region at Ashford PAD but by March 1995 it was out of use. it was subsequently withdrawn the same year and scrapped in October 1995.
RCE Heavy Duty Diesel Electric Crane. DRS 81332.
British Railways ordered seven 10 ton capacity rail mounted cranes for civil engineering works from established crane manufacturer Thomas Smith Ltd of Rodley, Leeds. All seven were for use on the BR Southern Region with four delivered in 1959 and three in 1962. They were delivered with BR engineers department numbers DB 965153 - DB 965156 and DB 965171 - DB 965173 with purpose built jib match wagons in the DB 9985xx range. With the advent of the BR civil engineers plant numbering scheme in 1974 the cranes were renumbered DRS 81330 to DRS 81336.
The example seen here in Leyton CMD Yard is DRS 81332 (ex DB 965155) which was Thomas Smith works no. 24612 of 1959. Its two purpose built match wagons being DB 998511 and DB 998512 which had originally worked with sister crane DRS 81334. Its working career was mostly based out of Eastleigh Pre Assembly Depot until April 1988 when it was transferred to the Anglia Region at Leyton but went into store as a serviceable spare until March 1991. It then returned to the Southern Region at Ashford PAD but by March 1995 it was out of use. it was subsequently withdrawn the same year and scrapped in October 1995.