In the early 1990s, there were no preservation groups dedicated to Class 56s and so there was the real danger that none of these fine locomotives would be saved for preservation.
So on 2nd May 1992, convening in the Strode Arms pub in Cranmore during a break in Pathfinder Tour’s “Aggregator” railtour (which was hauled by 56056 and 56062), founding members Alan Hawkins and Roger Elliott set about rectifying this situation. The result was the formation of the Class 56 Group in August 1992, with the aim of catering for people who are interested in the Class 56 locomotives and wanted to see one or more of these fine locomotives preserved for future generations to enjoy.
To help fulfill the Class 56 Group’s main aim of preserving a Class 56 for future generations to enjoy, fund raising started almost immediately, and in November 2005 all the hard work involved in fund raising came to fruition, when the group saved its first locomotive for preservation, namely 56040 “Oystermouth”. Whilst it had taken the group a long time to achieve this aim, when 56040 “Oystermouth” arrived at its new home at Dereham on the Mid Norfolk Railway on Tuesday 27th June 2006, it was the fitting culmination to nearly 14 years of hard work.
For some groups that would have been enough, but in February 2011 the Class 56 Group went one stage further and saved 56301 (the former 56045), which was (and still is) certified for use on the national mainline network. Unfortunately, the purchase of 56301 came with a “bittersweet pill to swallow”, in that to be able to afford to purchase 56301, the group would have to sacrifice 56040 to the scrap man!!
While no preservation group would normally sacrifice its first preserved locomotive, the group’s committee had to be pragmatic and show real leadership, by thinking with its collective mind, rather than its collective heart. While a lot of work had been done on 56040, a lot more expensive and time consuming work was required to fully restore 56040 back to pristine condition. 56301 on the other hand, had been fully overhauled at Brush Traction at Loughborough a few years beforehand, and it was also certified for use on the national mainline network, so it could earn the group valuable money, to help keep it in tip top condition for years to come. As decisions go, it was a “no-brainer“ in the end.
The loss of 56040 was further tempered, when in November 2012 the group was able to save the legendary 56006, whose purchase was part funded by some of the money from the hire fees earned by 56301, and part from a loan provided to the group by one of its long serving members. Initially 56006 was based at Barrow Hill, but on 25th July 2014 it was moved to UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester Depot, where restoration and repairs could be carried out more effectively.
Now we are down to just 56006 to which we can devote our entire energies to ensure we can highlight the place the Class 56 has in British railway history. New members are always welcome
56006 has a special place in the history of the Class 56 locomotives – it was the first Grid to enter service with BR in late February 1977. When BR identified the need for a new build of locomotives for coal traffic in 1974 Brush Traction was the only bidder for the initial tender for 60 locos. The urgent need for the locos’ introduction created a problem as there was no UK capability for immediate construction, so Brush outsourced the production of the first 30 locomotives to a partner they were working with in Romania, Electroputere in Craiova. The subsequent locomotives were built at BREL Doncaster (with a portion of a follow on order built at BREL Crewe). Whilst this addressed the need to get the locos into traffic quickly, with hindsight it probably wasn’t the ideal solution given the problems which quickly emerged when the first Class 56s got to the UK.
The locomotives built in Romania travelled by rail across Europe to Zeebrugge where they were loaded on to the train ferry to Harwich, before being hauled to Tinsley Depot for commissioning ahead of entry into service. The first two locomotives arrived at Zeebrugge in August 1976, with 56006 in the third batch reaching the Belgian port on 8 September. Rectification of the defects affecting the first locomotives to be delivered took six months, which meant it wasn’t until 25 February 1977 than BR finally accepted 56006 into traffic. And given that the first Doncaster built example, 56031, entered traffic three months later the decision to subcontract the work abroad to help speed the introduction into service seems shortsighted.
Initially based at Tinsley – as were all the Romanian built locos – the early work for 56006 was exactly what it had been built for, merry-go-round operations taking coal from collieries to power stations. At that time there was an extensive network of mines in South Yorkshire feeding power stations such as Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax. And the association with that traffic was recognised in January 1995 when 56006 received the name “Ferrybridge C Power Station”.
Whilst MGR traffic was the bread and butter of 56006’s duties, it has been called on to haul passenger services on several occasions, usually ‘drags’ under the wires when the electric power was switched off for engineering purposes. The first recorded instance of this was in June 1981 between Birmingham New Street and Nuneaton. The loco has also put in appearances on railtours: on the ‘Cattal Grid’ in 1995 between York and Newcastle, the ‘Marching Cat’ in 1997 between Ipswich and Felixstowe and the ‘Desert Mule’ in 2002 between Paddington and Westbury.
The History of 56006
Over the course of its career 56006 has carried a number of the liveries which were applied to the Class. Starting out in BR Blue, it then appeared in original Railfreight grey livery, followed by triple grey with coal sub-sector branding, then into Loadhaul livery before returning to BR Blue livery in August 1999. The return to the original colour scheme heralded the locomotive’s selection as a participant in the ‘EWS Classic Traction Event’ at the East Lancashire Railway in September 1999. Following this event 56006 joined a number of other EWS locomotives in a ‘heritage pool’ celebrating the history of locomotive classes which the company had inherited. In its celebrity role 56006 became an ambassador for the Class 56s in their declining years, appearing at events and helping to maintain interest in Grids. Withdrawal came in December 2003, just a few months before EWS dispensed with its remaining Class 56s in March 2004.
Following withdrawal by EWS 56006 attended an event at Barrow Hill and after remaining there for a few years was bought by the Class 56 Group in November 2012. and moved to the East Lancashire Railway, where it is being cared for by a team of Class 56 Group volunteers to make sure it can continue to carry the torch as the only preserved Class 56 locomotive.
Renewed interest and enthusiasm has seen 56006 gradually return to traffic at the East Lancs after a period out of service, although there is always plenty to do on a complicated beast like the Class 56 which doesn’t see the sort of daily running there was in BR days to keep things running smoothly. Nevertheless as 56006’s 50th anniversary approaches the Class 56 Group is confident that the locomotive will be at the forefront of generating enthusiasm for Grids for years to come – and this model plays an important role in celebrating our locomotive’s past, present and future.