Wensleydale Railway: Yorkshire Dales station welcomes Class 47 diesel locomotive to its heritage collection
The Class 47 diesel locomotive has arrived at Wensleydale Railway as part of its growing fleet of heritage diesel locomotives.
The diesel locomotive 47714 has been added to the Wensleydale Railway collection and the railway purchased the locomotive from The Harry Needle Railroad Company in Derbyshire, and it arrived at Leeming Bar on November 11.
It was delivered by class 50 50008 ‘Thunderer’ from Hanson and Hall Rail Services Solutions Limited. The railway’s class 37 loco (37250) brought it onto their line from Castle Hills Junction at Northallerton to Leeming Bar Station.
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The railway’s diesel traction team staff and volunteers have carried out a series of mechanical and electrical inspections and tests, and the loco was successfully started up for the first time at the railway on Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Director of engineering and rolling stock at Wensleydale Railway, Tim Williamson, said: “The purchase of this locomotive improves our operational capabilities.
“It has electric train-heating capacity which will allow us to heat our carriages during the cold winter months.
“Our immediate focus is to get 47714 fully operational and available as a back-up for 33035, which is currently in use for this year’s THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Rides.
“We will begin bodywork repairs in the New Year and aim to have it repainted for the Summer.”
Marketing and fundraising manager at Wensleydale Railway, Nick Keegan, said: “It was fantastic to see the loco start up, first time, at our railway.
“There is much work still to be done, but we are fortunate to have a great team of dedicated staff and volunteers managing this project.
“They did a superb job of the recent repairs and repainting of 37250, so 714 is in safe hands!”
47714 is a British Rail Class 47 or Brush Type 4 diesel. The design was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction in Loughborough.
512 class 47 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1968 at Brush’s factory in Loughborough and the British Railway’s factory in Crewe.