This preserved and privately owned Class 56 diesel locomotive 56301 was stabled at Phoenix Sidings over Easter 2015. It was on hire to Devon and Cornwall Railways Limited (DCR) and worked the 6Z36 Stockton T.J. Thomson to Cardiff Tidal Sidings scrap train at 1730 hours on 7 April 2015. The faded name of a former owner Fastline was visible on the side of the locomotive.
Photograph and details courtesy of Alan Boardman.
Class 56 preserved already? I remember going to Thornaby TMD c1984 and I saw about a dozen or so of these Locomotives lined up out of use during the miners strike. If I remember rightly the early members of this batch came from Romania and suffered from build quality problems to the point where they were sent to Doncaster works to be rebuilt! I have seen the article in the Traction magazine it is very good. During the late 70’s Deltics were frequently seen in the area during ECML diversions. Deltics visited Thornaby shed on at least two occasions during 1978.
This months ‘Traction’ railway magazine, number 229 of Sept/Oct 2015, pages 14-18, contains an article titled ‘ Recollections of a Billingham spotter 1973-75’ by Graham Bell of Norton. The article is illustrated with several local photographs including ‘Deltic’ D9018 Ballymoss passing through Stockton station on a diverted express in 1970 taken from Phoenix Sidings.