4/2/17 56096+56105 + 56113 ran light engines from Coleham to Basford Hall (Coleham is on the line between Shrewsbury and Church Stretton). 56113 continued to Bescot leaving the other two 56s in Basford Hall yard.
56098+ 56104 ran as 0V81 12:32 Leicester LIP – Bristol High Level Siding ( which is the spur running of platform 1 at Bristol Temple Meads)
6/2/17 56098+56104 ran as 0V67 09:03 Bristol HL Sdg – Long Marston then 12:10 Long Marston -Doncaster Wood Yrd conveying a Railvac. The 56s then ran 0Z56 Doncater- Derby North Dock siding where the pair stabled until running back to Leicester on the 10th Feb
7/2/17 56087 and 56113 ran Washwood Heath to Burton to collect 47749 which had failed in the Burton Area the previous day whilst working 6M08 Boston Docks – Washwood Heath steel train.
10/2/17 56098+56104 ran light back to Leicester from Derby . On arrival the entire UKRL fleet , except 56060 which is at Brush Traction, Loughborough, was at its home base. The Colas fleet was a little more widespread with 56078 & 56302 outbased at Whitemoor , 56096 & 56105 were still at Basford Hall and 56087 + 56113 were running light from Washwood Heath to join them for more North West & North Wales infrastructure duties.
12/2/17 (Sunday) 56078 +56302 worked a 00:01 Whitemoor- Littleport ( near Ely on the Kings Lynn line) engineers working . They returned to Whitemoor on a 06:45working from Ely Dock Jcn . (If anyone is thinking of going out to see any of these engineering workings please note this train ran 103mins early and was safely back at base before its timetabled departure time.)
56087+56113 were working at Chester and 56096+56105 had taken an engineers train up the Settle & Carlisle line to Appleby and returned as 0800 6C56 Appleby – Basford Hall.
19/2/17 – Colas 56s were located as follows:- 56078 Barnetby , 56087, 56105 & 56113 Colesford, and 56302 Hare Park.
20/2/17 56302 ran light from Doncaste Up Decoy Yard to Barnetby and DCR 56312 made a short trip from Willesden to Wembley in anticipation of some route learning runs which took place on the
21/2/17 56312 running light from Wembley to Foxton and Barrington Cement works. Hopefully the first of many trips for class 56s.
23/2/17 The Colas Grids seem to have been summoned back to Basford Hall ready for weekend engineering duties, 56078 +56302 ran as 14:20 Barnetby- Bassford Hall and 56087 + 56105 +56113 ran as 09:00 Coleham – Basford Hall. The only revenue earnig Colas grid was 56094 6E07 Boston Docks steel working.
26/2/17- Weekend work on the North Wales coast seems to have been the reason for the mass gathering of type 5’s at Basford Hall. 56087+56113 heading back from Hollywell Jcn to Basford Hall in late afternoon while 56078 , 56096 , & 56302 were still at Holywell Jcn presumably working back when the engineering work was finished. Its is strange how 56096 appeared at Basford, and 56105 seems to have been left in the yard . Perhaps 56105 developed a fault and 096 was summoned to replace it , or possibly 56105 was used back at Crewe for shunting duties. Of course TOPS could be wrong. Subsequent TOPS reports and observations may shed more light on things. ( If anyone saw the weekends work please feel free to get in touch and clarify)
27/2/17- further to the above- RTT shows a 12:46 Washwood Heath to Basford Hall light engine move on Friday 24/2 so it looks like 56096 could have ran north to join the weekend duties.
28/2/17 56087 + 56113 1340 Washwood Heath – Doncaster CHS