They Tried to Run a Railway - Part Three

摘要

Inverness-based 47460 had been outshopped from what proved to be its final overhaul at Crewe Works on October 19, 1985; the last 47/4 to receive such attention and emerge with its steam-heat boiler still operative. However, it was back at Crewe on November 8 for rectification, including a main generator change. It was released again on November 29, but was back in for more attention a week later on December 6 due to a persistently tripping Control Circuit Breaker. (The CCB tripping was a serious fault on a Class 47 as it shut the engine down, caused an emergency brake application, all fault lights to be extinguished and the failure to cancel of the AWS.) Thus, it was January 16 before 47460 was released again. In order to repatriate it to Scotland, Crewe Control allocated it to work the 1D43 1000 Euston-Holyhead from Crewe on the 17th, after which it worked the 1E93 1703 to York, from where it could, theoretically, be sent north. York Control had other ideas, however, and sent it out on the 5V74 from Clifton Sidings to Leeds the next morning. It then crossed the London Midland Region with the 1V74 0828 Leeds-Cardiff before spending the night in the Welsh Capital. On the 19th, Swindon Control sent it back north on the 1E79 1820 Cardiff-Hull, but it was back in Wales again on the 20th when it arrived on 1V74. By diagram it should then have worked the 1M73 1815 Cardiff-Manchester to Crewe, but instead it was quickly refuelled at Canton and sent back north on the 1355 to Hull and then the 1L46 1946 Hull-York. Remarkably it was back in South Wales again on the 22nd when it was at the head of the 1M84 1200 Cardiff-Crewe in place of the booked Class 33. It then stuck to diagram by working the 1V07 2048 Crewe-Cardiff. On the 25th it worked the 1M70 0750 Swansea-Manchester throughout and returned to South Wales with the 1V05 1345 Manchester-Cardiff. At 0300 on the 27th it was stopped with a fractured heat exchanger and was back in Crewe Works again the next day. It was next released on February 11, but the saga would continue...