FOLLOWING the expiry of a 10-year loan agreement, Class 25 No. D7659 (25309/25909) has been moved from Washwood Heath to Peak Rail, where it joins other items of rolling stock from Pete Waterman’s collection, including ‘Peak’ No. 46035 Ixion.
The Sulzer Type 2 had been placed in the care of a West Coast Railways employee, acting in a private capacity, in 2007 with a view to the loco being restored to working order. It was moved to Carnforth, and then to DCR’s Washwood Heath site in 2013, but pressures of other work meant that it was never returned to operational condition.
As the final loco to be constructed by Beyer Peacock at Gorton (Manchester) before the works closed, No. D7659 was bought by Pete Waterman in 1988, several years before his mass purchases in the early-mid 1990s.
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Initially based at the East Lancashire Railway, the ‘25’ last hauled trains as long ago as 1998, while No. 46035 was stopped for an E-exam in 2003 that was never completed.
Mr Waterman also retains ownership of ‘Generator’ Class 47 No. D1501 (47402) at the East Lancashire Railway, where it regularly sees service.
■ Progress is being made on returning another Class 25 to service. The newly-tyred wheelsets for the SRPS Diesel Group’s No. 25235 arrived back at Bo’ness from the South Devon Railway in July.
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