03s at Birkenhead

[D821]

The Wirral Globe has a story about Wirral Council formally donating a Class 03 to Llangollen Railway (which they've had on loan since 1989). There are a couple of good pictures of the 03s on the dock lines:

Llangollen Railway takes ownership of historic locomotive from Wirral Council

THE Llangollen Railway Trust is delighted to announce that it has taken ownership of long-term resident Class 03 diesel-mechanical shunting…

www.wirralglobe.co.uk

 

[Taunton]

Article states that it worked at the Electric Depot, but it only has conventional couplings whereas the emus, old and new in the shunters' time, all had automatic couplings. However, one was stationed through the 1970s-80s at the coal concentration depot at Birkenhead North, which I regularly noticed, and was normally stabled alongside the EMU shed. I seem to recall though that was always one with the "flowerpot" chimney, so not this one. Actually I thought all Swindon's production had that style of chimney.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Thanks for posting, @D821 . Brought back some nice memories of Birkenhead.

 

[D821]

I remember them at BHN as a child, but I don't think I ever saw them working. I would have loved to have seen trains working the docks in their heyday.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

The Wirral Globe has a story about Wirral Council formally donating a Class 03 to Llangollen Railway (which they've had on loan since 1989). There are a couple of good pictures of the 03s on the dock lines:

I wonder if any of the speed restrictions in that photo apply to the 03 !

 

[alistairlees]

I remember them at BHN as a child, but I don't think I ever saw them working. I would have loved to have seen trains working the docks in their heyday.

Di you mean Birkenhead North EMU Depot (code: BD)? There is no station with a three-letter (CRS) code of "BHN", but "BKN" is Birkenhead North station.

 

[Irascible]

A small quibble that there was at least one 03 working on the "mainline" way longer than those, it occasionally trundled past when I lived behind Hornsey depot. Minor one though!

A certain charm to 'em, I always fancied seeing what driving one was like. I had a go in an 08 ( in Taunton station! ) when I was a kid, but I was too small to even see out of the thing properly...

 

[D821]

Di you mean Birkenhead North EMU Depot (code: BD)? There is no station with a three-letter (CRS) code of "BHN", but "BKN" is Birkenhead North station.

I meant it as an informal abbreviation, I'll try to remember that for next time.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

Have a photo somewhere, I took of '189 on Birkenhead North depot many years ago. As for the one at Hornsey, would that be '179? IIRC it finished its BR days there after having served time at Ryde.

 

[Taunton]

A certain charm to 'em, I always fancied seeing what driving one was like. I had a go in an 08 ( in Taunton station! ) when I was a kid, but I was too small to even see out of the thing properly...

The Taunton 03s lived at Bridgwater docks, but one would waddle slowly back to Taunton shed for refuelling some afternoons. The controls were completely different between these types, the 03 mechanical parts were essentially from a 1960 heavy lorry, ERF/Atkinson/Foden etc, with a Gardner 8-cylinder engine and an epicyclic gearbox like in a dmu of the era. This was a standard, as BR small shunters from four or five manufacturers all used the same units. In first gear they could move a full-length freight train at walking pace, out on the line light engine their speed was well above an 08.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

My albeit second hand info (from a former workmate who worked on diesel shunters out of Feltham) was that the 03's in his opinion were a doddle to use for shunting etc., compared to the 04's that were a bit of a 'mare due to their gearing. From a personal (hobby) interest perspective I always liked the 04's (face value I guess), probably because I never had any first hand knowledge of same, where as the 03's were what they were at the time.

 

[D821]

I'd always assumed the 03s were for use by Merseyrail, were they are were they for freight use?

 

[Clarence Yard]

Yes. Rea Ltd used to shunt part of the docks area with a collection of Yorkshire Engine and Drewry shunters. When they ceased operation the cl.03 were sent to Birkenhead as that part of the docks was unsuitable for 08’s. This re-introduced cl.03 operation to LMR after several years absence.

 

[Merle Haggard]

In the early sixties when I first visited Birkenhead shed as well as steam dock shunters (47005/9 (???), 47164/6 and some J94s ex Bidston) there were the Hunslets, later D2500-09. These had not only had an exhaust that looked like a steam loco chimney but also a fuel tank behind the cab made to look like a coal bunker.

 

[Ianigsy]

Have a photo somewhere, I took of '189 on Birkenhead North depot many years ago. As for the one at Hornsey, would that be '179? IIRC it finished its BR days there after having served time at Ryde.

Yes, at the time the 03s were withdrawn from Birkenhead there was no indication that 03179 wouldn’t see out its remaining days on ballast and depot shunting at Ryde.

My dad accumulated quite a good portfolio of photos of the 03s in Birkenhead Docks as he worked about 10 minutes’ walk away from Canning Street North signal box and one of the signalmen there was definitely an enthusiast- the numbers of certain well-known steam locos were picked out in suitably coloured lumps of ballast by the trackside!

 

[Bevan Price]

In the early sixties when I first visited Birkenhead shed as well as steam dock shunters (47005/9 (???), 47164/6 and some J94s ex Bidston) there were the Hunslets, later D2500-09. These had not only had an exhaust that looked like a steam loco chimney but also a fuel tank behind the cab made to look like a coal bunker.

Those were Hudswell Clarke locos, not Hunslets. Original nos. 11116-20 & 11144-48. None survived long enough to receive TOPS numbers. Being a small non-standard design, they were withdrawn when the Marples-Beeching cuts greatly reduced the need for shunting locos.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

None survived long enough to receive TOPS numbers

Managed to catch a fair few of their very similar brethren, especially around South Yorkshire pits, where many were still languishing, mostly out of use by the late 70s though. Think there are few still around, one (at least?) at Butterley (MRC) I believe.