08 Update

2017 has proved to be a busy year for the humble 08/09 Shunter with plenty of activity. Although the number remaining is nowhere near the amount that was produced, the figure remains fairly static with few being disposed off. This year has seen long term contract changes, location changes and even new shunter duties created. Below is a brief update on whats being going on...

Alstom

Alstom retain a number of 'Gronks' at their depots along the West Coast Mainline. Locations such as Glasgow Polmadie, Liverpool Edge Hill, Manchester Longsight, Wolverhampton Oxley and London Wembley all started the year with a Shunter requirement. All of Alstom's Gronks have received attention in recent times, with money spent on them to keep them going for years to come. Most of this work was undertaken at Arlington Fleet Services, Eastleigh Works and included a full overhaul and repaint. Alstom's locos carried a variety of liveries prior to overhaul including BR Express Parcels Blue (08721) BR Black (08454) BR Green (08696) and Virgin Trains Red/Black (08611). 08954 was overhauled at Longsight depot and repainted blue from Transrail Railfreight grey livery.

The current disposition of Alstom's Gronks is as below...

Location	Allocation
Ditton	08454, 08721
Glasgow Polmadie	08764, 08954
Manchester Longsight	08451
Wolverhampton, Oxley	08617
Wembley	08611, 08696
Eastleigh Works	08790, 08887

08721 08454 Alstom Widnes

08454 Alstom Widnes

The list above no longer includes Liverpool Edge Hill. In truth, for the past couple of years the 08 was little more than a spare part on the site, often only being moved to keep it in serviceable condition. In June 2017, Edge Hills final pilot 08454 was road transferred the short distance to the new Rail Technology Centre in Widnes. The new site has a contract to repaint all Virgin Pendolinos which are now due. Rather than receiving Virgin Colours, the Pendos will initially receive a neutral scheme prior to the awarding of the West Coast franchise. The Pendolinos are split in to 3 parts and placed on to the 3 roads of the shed. Surprisingly in August, 08454 was joined by 08721 from Longsight and it appears that for the foreseeable future the site will have 2 pilots.

08721 Heywood, East Lancashire Railway

Manchester Longsight is down to 1 pilot, with 08451, itself not long brought down from Polmadie, holding the fort. It is expected that this will be joined by 08790 once it is released from Eastleigh.

08790 and 08887 are both on repairs at Arlingtons. 08790 has received some attention to its radiator as well as its traction motors. The loco is the only of the fleet at the moment to have a slight deviation to its livery, this being a black bonnet roof in addition to BR Blue.
08887 has been onsite at Eastleigh since Mid 2016 when it arrived for generator repairs.

Freightliner

Freightliner continue to deploy 08's at their container terminals up and down the country. The Gronks are on long term hire from Porterbrook and receive repairs at the LH Group (Wabtec) Barton Under Needwood as and when required.

08785 Southampton Maritime

Location	Allocation
Felixstowe FLT	08531,08691
Southampton Maritime	08530,08624
Trafford Park FLT	08585
Barton Under Needwood	08785
Nemesis Burton (Stored)	08575, 08891

08571 08624 Southampton Maritime MD

08724 08530 Leeds Midland Road

A recent shuffling of the fleet has seen 08530 come off long term repairs and transferred to Southampton Maritime via Leeds Midland Road for tyre turning. This has joined 08624 'Rambo' ensuring there is a pilot for the servicing shed and a pilot for the container terminal.

08785 has been tripped to LH Group for some well earned TLC having put in a tremendous performance at Maritime during which all of the other Freightliner Gronks had visited LH group due to failure and repairs at some point. 

08530 Barton Under-Needwood

08531 Barton Under-Needwood

08585 'Vicky' Trafford Park Fueller

08624 'Rambo' Southampton Maritime

08691 Barton Under-Needwood

08785 Barton Under-Needwood

 

08891 Barton Under-Needwood

Long term stored 08575 and 08891 have been shifted the short distance from LH group to the Nemesis Rail site in Burton. It is unclear at the moment why this is, whether they have been sold on or for further storage. 

08575 Barton Under-Needwood

08575 was stood down after an incident also involving 08077 at Southampton Maritime which saw both Gronks go through a set of Buffer stops. 08077 has since been scrapped.

HN Rail/GBRf

GBRf own a small number of their own Gronks but in more recent times have hired in from their supplier of choice HN Rail. The GBRf/HN Rail combination has seen Gronks used at Cardiff Celsa, Garston Car Terminal, Immingham Docks. 

A rumoured new contract is to see 09106/09201 installed with lights and mainline equipment for the Doncaster area.... time will tell!

The requirement at Garston has been upped from 1 shunter to 2, with 08818 (fresh from overhaul) joining 08507 at the South Liverpool complex. Whether this remains a permanent 2 loco gig remains to be seen. 

08818 'Molly' Garston Car Terminal

08527 is used a Immingham Docks on a contract between GBRf and Puma Energy.

08527 leaving Allerton for attention at Barrow Hill before being redeployed at Immingham Docks.

Still the largest gig between the pair is the Celsa Steel Plant in Cardiff. Requiring at least 4 Gronks at any one time, currently the location is home to 08389 (Celsa 1) 08924 (Celsa 2) 08630 (Celsa 3) and non remote control 08904. The first 3 locos have been fitted with remote control equipment, with 08904 on site at the moment to act as the spare loco. This contract was gained from DB after they pulled out in 2010/2011 and had been run down by EWS/DB in the latter years. This was mainly down to a lack of local dedicated maintenance facilities which in turn busted many a Gronk, often leaving the site with 1 or no serviceable shunters. GB and HN Rail have transformed this, introducing overhauled locomotives and state of the art remote control technology, which unlike the EWS/DB variant, actually works reliably.

08389 (Celsa 1) Cardiff

08924 (Celsa 2) Cardiff

08630 'Celsa Endeavor' (Celsa 3) Cardiff

08904 Cardiff

RSS

08632 was moved to the Tata Steel Trostre site in Llanelli for hire via Runtech limited. This proved to be short lived however with RSS pulling out due to contractual issues. The loco has been returned to Wishaw where it is receiving some further attention prior to being released to Leeds Neville Hill. This will in turn allow 08405 to be moved to Wishaw for a repaint and some attention of its own.

08632 receiving attention at Wishaw

08480 and 08683 have in the past month taken over pilot duties at Norwich Crown Point from RMS locotech. 

East Midlands Trains

EMT currently employ Class 08's at Derby Etches Park (1) and Leeds Neville Hill (4) to assist with shunting operations. 08899 is based at Derby and 08525, 08690, 08908 and 08950 are based at Leeds Neville Hill. Of these, only 08525 is thought to be operational. 08690 and 08908 have been condemned for sometime visible from passing trains due to failures. 08950 is thought to have shifted cranks. As Neville Hill is both a EMT and Northern site, 08405 is on hire via RSS to Northern and assists EMT as and when required.

08417 08899 Derby

08525 Leeds Neville Hill

Arriva Traincare (Formerley LNWR)

Arriva Traincare operate sites at Bristol Barton Hill, Cambridge, Crewe, Eastleigh and Tyne Yard. Bristol, Crewe and Eastleigh all retain shunter duties at present.

Location	Allocation
Bristol Barton Hill	08516
Crewe LNWR	08868,09204
Eastleigh	08810,08442 (s), 08735(s)

At Bristol 08516 is kept busy as the sole occupant of the former EWS Mail depot.

08516 Bristol

At Crewe there is sufficient work for two Gronks with 08868 and 09204 employed here. Both carry Arriva Traincare Livery and apart from the plain yellow ends, look the business!

09204 Crewe

Eastleigh is home to 3 Class 08's at present with 08810 the depot pilot, 08442 in long term store and 08735 languishing on site despite being offered for sale last year by DB. It is unknown if it was sold and who its new owner may be.

The nose of 08810 just visible at the former Eastleigh TMD.

08735 'The Cement Mixer' awaits it fate at Eastleigh.

08 Update

DB Cargo Fleet for Sale

During September DB Cargo placed their entire remaining fleet of Class 08 and 09 shunter's up for sale. DB has had a fleet size of approximately 8 operational shunter's over the past 12 months with an additional 16 in storage across the country. What happens next remains to be seen, it is inconceivable to me that DB can get back without the use of dedicated shunt locos at strategically placed locations such as Hoo Junction, Eastleigh and Warrington Arpley. An experiment a couple of years ago saw the entire fleet stood down and replaced by Mainline locos only to be reversed a couple of weeks later. This was in part due to DB's efficiency standards, serviceable mainline locos do not sit in yards or depots for long as they are not generating revenue. This led to their being no locos to Marshall and prepare trains with, which in turn created delays.

It is a well known fact that the veteran BR design has been on the hit list for the German company for the past few years with a gradual run down of the fleet and the types duties. A serious lack of investment in the fleet over the past few years has inevitably left the fleet tired, stretched and in the case of some examples, due heavy work. This work has not been sanctioned in recent times, another case of railways being run by accountants who seemingly cannot justify the expense of what is seen as a non revenue earning asset. With decisions being made by people working on balance sheets rather than on the ground in the operation, it is no surprise that DB has lost major ground over the past few years, Indeed, in the past couple of days it has emerged that the once great German entity is planning to shed 900 jobs in the UK. The decline in Coal and Steel markets is one of the main reasons the company is giving for it being on its arse but the problem in my opinion runs much deeper. DB has been on a steady decline for a number of years due to seemingly being unable to adapt to change and be innovative. Unlike GBRf, DB haven't gone out of their way to highlight the benefits of using rail over road. Not only have they been unable to attract new customers to Rail, they've lost quite a bit of existing work too.

So what next for the shunting operations of what is technically still Britain largest rail freight operator? Whether they would be looking to hire in a number of shunter's remains to be seen. This way the ground staff (who are left) would be able to operate a familiar locomotive whilst the business would not have to worry about expensive repair or exam costs.
The operator introduced a couple of battery powered shunter's at Toton and Crewe last year however these would not be suitable for use in a busy yard. Indeed the Crewe example is dumped to one side with the staff preferring to use stored examples of Class 08's as the depot pilots.

As of Monday 20/10/2016 the fleet looked like below;

Loco	Location	Status	Notes
08428	Warrington Arpley	Stood down - Brake issues	Since sanctioned. Now back in traffic
08632	Mossend	Stood down - Requires D Exam	Officially stored 19/10/2016
08703	Bescot	Available	Just received 'C Exam'
08742	Hinskey Sidings	Available
08757	Bescot	Available	Just received 'C Exam'
08888	Hoo Junction	Stood down - Requires B Exam	Since sanctioned. Now back in traffic
08904	Eastleigh	Available
09106	Knottingley	Available

EWS liveried 08904 is busy shunting engineering trains at Eastleigh Yard on Friday 14th October 2016.

Mainline workings by Shunters are increasingly rare these days but one such trip working that still enjoys the delights of a 'Gronk' is the 8K77 Knottingley/Drax/Milford Wagon moves. Former Warrington Resident 09106 is seen shunting a lone Hopper at Milford West Sidings.

RES liveried 08742 is seen here in Hinksey Yard, Oxfordshire on Thursday 13th October 2016. The loco has just returned from repairs at Didcot after suffering fire damage earlier in the year. It was widely expected that the loco would not be repaired however against all odds it was and also received a C exam at Didcot. After a few weeks bedding in on local shunt duties, the loco ran light the short distance from Didcot to Hinksey under the cover of Darkness in September. Hinksey is a busy base for engineering trains and the Gronk is kept occupied by numerous arrivals.

The last operational loco to carry EWS 'More Yellow' livery is 08888. Pictured here in Didcot yard on 29th November 2014 the loco is one of the hardest worked of all the DB fleet having served up and down the country in recent years. After a spell out of traffic whilst undergoing a D Exam at Bescot, the loco was returned to service in early 2016 and was sent to replace the ailing 08623 at Hoo Junction. The loco remains in use today, but was briefly stood down in October awaiting a B exam to be authorized.

08703 sits on Bescot shed in between duties in August 2016. It had recently arrived from Immingham for a C Exam but was pushed down the queue when 08752 arrived from Tyne Yd for the same treatment. The loco saw use as Bescot pilot seeing 08907 temporarily stood down again, but has now entered the shed for repairs  and is yet to emerge. Will it work for DB again?











In the addition to the above, the following locos are also seeing use despite being 'Stored'

Loco	Status	Notes
08405	Crewe EMD Pilot	Recently took over from 08495
08480	Toton Pilot	Pilot here for many years
08605	Wigan Springs Branch Pilot	Replaced long term resident (and now sold) 08877
08633	Stoke Marcroft Pilot	Everyday use, Replaced 08993 in 2015
08907	Bescot Pilot	Irregular use. Intermittent engine issues

Long term Bescot resident 08907 sits under the floodlights on a cold Octobers night. The Bescot pilot now mainly sees use on shed with mainline locos taking up shunting responsibilities over at the virtual quarry. 08907 was the first of the Class to receive the DB livery back in 2014.

Following a number of years storage at Toton in the compound, 08605 was the surprise replacement for the sold 08877 when it left Wigan in 2015. Once at Wigan, its faded EWS livery was quickly replaced with DB red/grey with 'Wigan 2' stencilled on the side (08877 was of course 'Wigan 1'). These days, Wigan is used as a wagon repair shop and a base for Network Rail MPV units. The loco is pictured sitting outside the shed in May 2016.

Another location which depends on the use of a dedicated pilot is the busy Axiom Rail wagon works in Stoke. 08633 arrived here in 2015 to replace 08993 which was sold further down the line. Originally the Gronk sat out of use with the staff preferring to use its 'Cut Down' sister, indeed the day 08993 left on a low loader, it was still performing pilot duties as the low loader was on site and set up waiting for it, whilst 08633 sat around.

The full list of locos offered for sale are as below;

Loco	Location
08405	Crewe EMD
08428	Warrington Arpley
08480	Toton
08495	Crewe EMD
08605	Wigan
08623	Bescot
08632	Mossend
08633	Stoke
08703	Bescot
08706	Crewe EMD
08735	Eastleigh
08742	Didcot
08752	Bescot
08757	Crewe EMD
08782	Doncaster
08784	Toton
08799	Westbury
08804	Crewe EMD
08879	Margam
08888	Hoo Junction
08904	Eastleigh
08907	Bescot
08922	Toton
09106	Knottingley