19850223_ZD_AdrianNicols
08 715 Currock Wagon Works' 'unofficial pilot'. 2004.
08 715 was something of an odd-ball in the EWS shunter fleet. It was the last vacuum brake only class 08 on the companies books and carried a one off day-glow orange livery plus being fitted with a single headlight both ends. The locomotive was originally an Eastern Region machine in BR days and gained its orange livery while at Startford TMD in 1993. As I understand it this livery was applied for shunting the LIFT (London International Freight Terminal) at Startford., By September 1997 now in EWS ownership it was taken out of use and officially recorded as stored serviceable on 08/02/1998 being mothballed at its home depot Stratford. When EWS started to carry out shunter overhauls at Ferrybridge Depot it was moved by road to Yorkshire in May 2001 but being vacuum only it never entered the overhaul programme and instead remained stored serviceable. With the cut back in depot provision and the ceasing of shunter overhauls culminating in Ferrybridge Depots closure it was moved again by road to Currock Wagon Works in Carlisle. A number of other out of use class 08's moved at the same time, this move took place in late 2003., The EWS staff at Currock found the locomotive to be in far better condition than many of the active fleet so unofficially it was adopted as the works pilot and saw regular use shunting the wagon works despite officially still being stored., Being in such good condition everyone thought its future would be assured, in fact it still carried its 1960 Derby Works worksplate which by this date was unusual as most had been prized off or broken. When the works closed in 2007 everybody thought it would be sold into preservation. Alas that wasn't to be as EWS asset management had it recorded as stored out of use for 9 years so it was deemed only fit for scrap. Nobody was about to say hang on a minute its a runner and we have been using it for years ! So as the works was cleared of rolling stock it ended up as the last remaining vehicle in the shed by which time thieves had comprehensively wrecked it trying to rob copper and brass from the locomotive. With a bleak future in prospect it was removed from the derelict shed on 21/01/2009 and taken by road to T.J. Thompson's Scrapyard at Stockton for its appointment with the gas axe.
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