THE return to the UK of a Class 04 from Italy (first highlighted in our August 2003 issue) is back on the agenda again.
No. D2289 has been secured from steel processing firm Lonato S.p.A. in Brescia, Northern Italy, by Mark Jones, and it is set to join the Heritage Shunters Trust collection at Rowsley.
Its transportation across Europe is expected to cost in the region of £15,000 and the HST is asking for pledges of support to help fund this – visit www.heritageshunters.co.uk for more details.
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No. D2289, which was one of only a small number of Class 04s to gain BR blue livery, was one of four members of the class to be exported to Italy via P. Wood (Shipbreakers), the others being Nos. D2216/31/95.
Previously owned by Feralpi Holdings S.p.A, it was later sold to Acciaierie di Lonato, which later became Lonato S.p.A. The loco was in service until at least 2009.
The new owner of No. D2289 plans to keep the loco in its current all-over red colour scheme, applied at the Lonato site in the early 2000s, for the time being. In due course, it will regain BR blue livery.
Read more News and Features in the June issue of RE – on sale May 18!
