A HERITAGE DIESEL locomotive passed through Bromsgrove this week when it headed to a preserved railway where it will appear at an event, writes Neil Gordon.
The class 52 diesel-hydraulic locomotive, number D1015, was travelling from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to the Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster, on Wednesday afternoon.
The locomotive, known as a Western and named Western Champion, was built at Swindon Works and entered traffic in 1963. Just two years later, in January 1965, the locomotive was tasked with hauling the return coaches of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral train between Oxfordshire and London.
British Rail operated the locomotive for only 14 years and it was withdrawn in 1977 before being preserved by the Diesel Traction Group in 1980 for £6,125.00.
The engine is booked to haul passenger services over four days at the Severn Valley Railway’s Spring Diesel Festival.
