British Rail Class 02

With the changes in the role of the British railway system and the closing of many of the facilities in which the Class 02 locomotives worked, they were increasingly surplus to requirements. The first locomotives were withdrawn in December 1969 from the Preston division of the Midland Region and by the end of 1971 there were only four left in service with British Rail. Of these, three survived long enough to enter the BR TOPS computer system: 02001 (formerly D2851), 02003 (D2853), and 02004 (D2856), and all three were withdrawn in June 1975 from Allerton depot. Being between nine and fourteen years old when withdrawn, they still had a lot of life left in them, and the majority were sold to private industry, with nine being cut up for scrap.[2][3]

D2850 was a very short lived shunter working for just 10 years from 1960 to 1970. After leaving Bank Hall Shed, D2850 was transferred to Allerton TMD where it survived in until 1970.[6] It was scrapped shortly after.

D2851 was one of 3 units that survived long enough to enter TOPS, it spent nearly its entire life at Allerton Depot through the 1970s before it was withdrawn in 1975, it was scrapped shortly afterwards. Even as late as 1973, 2 years before withdrawal, the unit still carried its old number. Due to its short lifespan there are few reported sightings of the unit.[7]

D2852 survived in BR service longer than most other units in this class, bested only by the units with a TOPS classification, however this unit was allocated a TOPS number, 02002 but it was never carried by the unit. The Locomotive after leaving Bank Hall Shed was transported to Speke Junction in 1966 and it also went to Liverpool Alexandra Dock during its time there. However just two years later the unit was moved to Allerton Depot. While in its early years, still in Bank Hall Shed, the units worked mostly the Great Howard Street Goods Yard. The unit despite its allocations was occasionally moves do Liverpool Brunswick Dock. While in Allerton Depot the unit frequently worked alongside the aforementioned D2851 prior to it carrying its TOPS number. The unit was withdrawn in October 1973, and was scrapped on site by Avon Transmissions on the first of March 1976.

D2853, after construction and commencing of operations, was given the works number 2812. It entered service in October 1960. After leaving Bank Hall Shed, which it did very early, it worked the Liverpool docks until it was then transferred to Speke Junction. Despite being transferred to the Docks, it was still officially allocated to Bank Hall Shed. The locomotive was present on the Derby Locomotive Works Open Day on 31 August 1968. Also in 1968, the unit alongside D2852 was transferred from Speke Junction to Allerton TMD, where it would spend the rest of its BR life working. It was also seen moving goods around the area of Allerton, at Liverpool Exchange in 1973, and in Garston docks in 1975. In 1974, the unit began carrying its new TOPS number, 02003. However, that number didn't last long, as the unit was withdrawn in June 1975. Its last years were devoted to working with D2851, D2852 and D2856. Following withdrawal, it was sold to LCP Fuels of Pensnett near Birmingham.

After Leaving Bank Hall Shed, D2854 stayed in the Liverpool area, however it did not stay for long, it was withdrawn in 1970 and was sold to C.F. Booth of Rotherham.

D2855 entered service in Bank Hall Shed in November 1960 and was a very short lived locomotive. It was moved to Arpley Yard in Warrington towards the end of its life in the late 60s before being scrapped on the first of June 1970.

D2856 was one of three units to survive long enough to carry a TOPS number. It left Bank Hall Shed in October 1966 and was transferred to Speke Junction and then to Allerton Depot in May 1968. I survived there working Alongside the other units that survived Long enough to Enter TOPS until the last three units were withdrawn in June 1975. In 1974 however the unit was briefly used in Liverpool Exchange. The unit was stripped for spares in September 1975 and the top of the unit holding the engine was destroyed in the process, the rest of the locomotive was scrapped the following month. Before withdrawal and carrying its new number 02004 worked briefly at Bank Hall Shed once again.[8]

D2857 was given the works number 2816 and like many others of the class worked in only Merseyside under British Rail starting in Bank Hall Shed in December 1960. It then found itself in the Great Howard Street Goods Yard, then Liverpool Exchange, Speke Junction and finally Allerton Depot where it resided until April 1971. It was then sold to Lowton Metals Ltd. in Haydock.

D2858 originally worked in Newton Heath until 1970 when it was permanently withdrawn and then was sold over to ICI Fertilisers in Widnes who painted the engine red.

D2859 was allocated to Burton shed in December 1960 and left in December 1964. It was replaced by Class 03 D2384 which moved on in October 1967. D2859 was given the works number 2825. It also worked around the Workington area before being left to rust at the seaside for a number of years prior to scrappage.

D2860 in 1979

D2860 was withdrawn in 1970 and 4 years later was picked for use in the National Railway Museum as a shunting locomotive where it still resides today and is labelled as preserved.[5]

D2861 left bank hall shed and was moved briefly to Horwich works in 1963, but was soon after brought to Preston where it worked until December 1969 when it was one of the first 5 locomotives of the class to be withdrawn, it was scrapped shortly afterwards.[9] Within Preston it was stored in Lostock Shed. It was a common number to be placed on class 02 Model trains.[10]

D2862, after leaving Bank hall shed, was moved to Preston at Lostock shed[11] in 1964[12] and was one of the first 5 trains of the class to be withdrawn in December 1969. It was sold to NCB afterwards to work on various collieries.[13][14]

D2863 operated the same life as D2862 until 1969 when it was withdrawn, following that it was scrapped.

D2864 left Bank hall shed and west slightly east to Patricroft Yard but then was moved to Newton heath where it was stored alongside D2869 and was eventually scrapped in 1970.[15][16]

D2865 left bank hall shed and worked in Warrington before having been in service only 9 years was withdrawn. It was sold into industrial use after withdrawal at Blue Circle Industries Ltd., Kilverington Gypsum Works.[17]

D2866 lived a short unknown BR life and was withdrawn in 1970, it was sold to Arnott Young & Co. in Dalmuir yard.[4]

D2867 was given the works number 2850. It left bank hall shed in 1963 and went to Newton Heath. The following year it was transferred to Fleetwood and then Lostock Hall the year after that. It didn't last long there either as in 1966 it was moved to Speke Junction and then moved again to Allerton Depot in 1968 where it also wouldn't last to long as it was withdrawn in 1970 and was sold to Redland Roadstone Ltd. in barrow upon soar.[18] During its BR life it was once transported to Mountsorrel.[8]

D2868 was allocated to Bank hall shed for the first 3 years of its life however spent much of its time working in other areas such as the Great Howard Street Goods Yard, Liverpool Exchange, Redfern Street Sidings and Garston Dock, all of which are in the Merseyside area where most trains of the class worked. In August 1964, it was transferred to Fleetwood where it would work alongside D2867. It wouldn't last long however being transferred to Lostock Hall 1 month later. It was one the first 5 trains of the class to be withdrawn and still had a lot of life left in it, so it was sold to L.C.P. Fuel Co., Pensnett Trading Estate, Shut End, the same place 02003. While in Lostock hall, the train often worked in Greenbank Sidings.

D2869 was given the works number 2852 and was the last locomotive in the class to be built, it only survived 8 years, leaving Bank Hall Shed for Lostock hall before after withdrawal being moved to Newton Heath for storage before inevitably being scrapped by T W Ward at Beighton, Sheffield in August 1971. It only lasted 8 years in service.[19]

02003 was sold to LCP Fuels[20] of Pensnett/Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, It was renamed Peter. It began operations in 1976 It spent most of its time in small enclosures with tight turns hauling small industrial goods but in 1980 Peter was seen working with Class 25 unit 25 273 in the main Pensnett yard working with Coke Hoppers and larger wagons. It offered a good service to the Industry until 1997 when it was acquired by the South Yorkshire Preservation Society.

D2854 was purchased by C.F Booth Scrapyard of Rotherham, unlike today when a train is sold to C.F. Booth it is being sold for scrap, it was sold for industrial use. It had begun operations by 1971 and was a useful engine to C.F. Booth. In 1985 much of the exterior of the unit had been cut up and one could see through one end of the locomotive to the other, this was likely for maintenance. In 1989 the locomotive was sold to the South Yorkshire Railway (now the Heritage Shunters Trust) for preservation, where it still resides.

D2857 operated as a scrapyard shunter in Bird Group's scrapyard in Long Marston where it worked for over a decade before being stored until its condition got much worse. It was stored alongside an ex-GWR Iron tool van until 1992 when it was finally scrapped.

D2858 worked in ICI Fertilisers in Widnes until the 1980s when the factory was closed. Then it was sold to Lowton Metals near Haydock who revamped the locomotive and it worked there until 1988 when it was moved to Ripley and then it was preserved.

D2862 was sold to NCB and it worked on the Norton and Holditch Collieries near Stoke-on-Trent. It was painted into a new light blue livery and after withdrawal it was scrapped.[13][14]

D2865 was sold to Blue Circle Industries Ltd., Kilverington Gypsum Works where it worked until circa 1984. It was repainted into a yellow livery.[4][21]

D2866 was sold to Arnott Young & Co. in Dalmuir Yard and was repainted into a yellow livery, over time it began to rust and was renumbered AY1021[22] but was eventually sold into preservation.[4]

D2867 was sold to Redland Roadstone Ltd, in Barrow upon Soar having previously been on hire to a Welsh Cement company while still technically under BR's influence. Redland Roadstone kept the unit until 1995 when it wasn't needed anymore and it was given to Meadowhall works with hopes that it would be preserved. The unit was painted in Redland Roadstones's typical green livery. The unit did move around a little while allocated here most notably In 1987 it went to Banbury and Derby. The locomotive was one of 3 in the class to be given a name in industrial use as it was called Diane.[18]

D2868 was used alongside 02003 at LCP Fuels at Shut End in the West Midlands, it was given the name Sam.[20] It worked between 1970 and Circa 1987. It was then given to Meadowhall Works for long store. It did much of its work alongside D2853 Peter but despite being newer was withdrawn for before it. Photos show the 2 locos working together.[23]

D2853 was originally sent over to Meadowhall in 1997 before later being transferred to the Rutland Railway Museum and eventually in 2004 to Barrow Hill Engine Shed, where it resides today. The unit is often only posing statically on display however the unit does occasionally move around on its own power, sometimes with other units. In 2006 it was moved to Scunthorpe Steelworks, also known as Appleby Froddingham[29] on multiple occasions, it was briefly moved back to Barrow hill although it wouldn't be until 2016 when it was finally moved back there permanently. The unit is currently, as of 2020 painted in BR Green Livery and is in Great Condition.

D2854 was purchased from C.F. Booth in 1989 by the Heritage Shunters Trust and it was originally used moved to meadowhall in 1989 where it was overhauled. It wasn't seen working on Peak rail until 2003. It has continually ran there since and has not once been moved.[30]

D2858 in Swanwick junction on the 12th April 2009

D2858 was moved to Swanwick Junction in 2002 and in 2004 was repainted into BR Green Livery. Since then D2858 has been preserved in the Midland Railway Centre and it often runs between Swanwick Junction and Butterley and occasionally further.[31]

D2860 outside the Great Hall in the National Rail Museum

D2860 has resided at the National Railway Museum since shortly after it opened and it still works there today. It operates as a shunting locomotive which moves other exhibits around, particularly ones which cannot move on their own power, and it is rarely put on display not least because the class 02s are no special sight as 6 others are preserved and as they are but small shunters. The locomotive frequently moves outside the museum into York TMD and into York station sometimes to pick up new exhibits or just for storage but it has also been moved to several other locations briefly over time and is the most active of the Class 02s frequently moving across the country. The unit frequently goes on tours in March and July Trips include to Carlisle in June 2005, Durham in July, and Edinburgh and Leeds in October. In addition it made a Scotland trip in June 2006, followed by going Tamworth in September and Leeds again in December. In March 2007 it went to Newcastle and then Edinburgh, then south to Doncaster and Peterborough the following month. In August of that year it made a trip to Inverness via Leeds. In March 2008 it went to Durham, Sheffield and Edinburgh then to Peterborough and Newcastle in July. In March 2009 it visited Durham and Manchester Victoria and in June of that year went between Ewell west and Newcastle. The following month it travelled to Runcorn, Crewe, Birmingham and Cheltenham Spa before going all the way between Inverness and London. In September it travelled to Runcorn East, Warrington Bank Quay, Manchester and Newcastle stopping in York briefly along the way. Before making its way back to York via the East Coast Main Line. That same month, it went between Huddersfield and Newcastle and then Back to York. It then did a round trip in November through Huddersfield and Newcastle once more. A few days later it did one large tour through Runcorn, Warrington, Manchester, Sheffield, York and Durham, afterwards continuing to Edinburgh. It also made a tour to Manchester and Newton-le-willows in December. Through the last portion of the year it kept cycling through the North also ending up in Whitby and Stockport. The following year it made tours through Barnsley and Thornaby as well as the usual destinations and again in Thornaby in 2011. It also was present for Railfest in York in 2012 and was constantly moving through the museum and yard for different events. Following this tours were significantly less frequent but it went back to Whitby as well as Berry Brow. The following year it travelled to Birmingham and Harrogate once more. Since then the unit has almost entirely stayed in York.[32]

D2866 started its preserved life in Bridge of Dun on the Caledonian Railway and was still carrying its old livery and number, it was eventually moved to Meadowhall for Restoration and eventually Rowsley on Peak Rail. Where it was broken up to replace broken parts. Now it regularly operates there and is in good condition, it has never left Peak Rail since leaving Meadowhall.[33]

D2867 spent nearly 6 years in Meadowhall before finally in 2001 it was sold to the battlefield line railway which is where it resides today. It has however been on tour once through Runcorn, Crewe, Nuneaton, Manchester and Warrington. Upon arrival in the Battlefield Line Railway, it was still in its previous industrial livery.[34] The unit has been refurbished by the battlefield line railway and is in good condition.

D2868 was stored in Meadowhall until 2004 when it was sold to Barrow Hill Engine Shed where it resides today. It travelled to Durham in 2006 and to Widnes in 2007. Between 2008 and 2009 it went on loan to Peak Rail then again in 2013–2014. Between 2012 and 2016 it went to Manchester and was spotted by Deansgate. After 2016 it went Back to Barrow Hill which is where it still resides, mostly on static display but is capable of moving under its own traction.