D5581 BR green w/SYP
Outshopped from Brush’s Falcon Works, Loughborough, exactly two years after our other third run green machine D5503, ‘production’ headcode box-fitted D5581 wears the eternally popular British Railways green with small yellow panels livery. New to 32A Norwich Thorpe in January 1960, it moved to 32B Ipswich just over a year later and then to 30A Stratford 12 months after that, before settling at 31B March in June 1962. With competition from English Electric Type 3s the uprated 1,365hp Mirrlees-powered ‘Class 30s’ could still be found on express trains, but were more likely to be rostered on secondary passenger and freight services during this period. Following the major rationalisation of the East Anglian railway network it joined the exodus of motive power from the region, moving to 41A Tinsley in January 1966 via a stop off at the ‘Plant’ (Doncaster Works) to receive its EE 12SVT upgrade. It was renumbered 31163 in February 1974 when allocated to Leeds Holbeck before it became part of the second wave of Class 31s to migrate to the Western Region to replace withdrawn diesel hydraulics in 1976. After a long career it was eventually stored at Immingham in January 1999 and was sold to the Colne Valley Diesel Group for preservation. However before it moved to their home railway it was sold on to the Chinnor & Princes Risborough where it is still based and currently wears the attractive Derby RTC livery with the fictitious number 97205 as inspired by the real research department allocated Class 31 97204 which was scrapped in March 1997. Unfortunately it was involved in a collision in 2022 and it is still undergoing repair at Nemesis Rail, Burton-upon-Trent.