After the grumbling about the Midland Railway-Butterley in my last post you might be surprised to know that I was back there today buying a ticket!
The reason for my return visit was the news that not one but two Class 20s would be running today, one of them for the first time in preservation.
20205 (the former D8305) not only had never run in preservation but is believed to have not worked a train at all since 1989! (apart from a test train yesterday that is).
Also running were Balfour Beatty liveried 20189 (the former D8189) and MR-B resident 20048 (the former D8048), topping and tailing a packed rake of six BR Mk.1 coaches with 20205 swapping ends throughout the day.
The published timetable (on the PLEG website) was thrown into disarray quite early on by unscheduled stops at Butterley (to cope with the volume of passengers I suspect) and 20048 running out of fuel part way through the day didn't help either!
On display at Swanwick Junction were fellow class members 20142 (the former D8142) and 20057 (the former D8057), looking a lot less tatty than it did when it arrived at the MR-B a year ago.
The mild weather made up for the lack of train heating and brought out the lineside photographers in force! (Including my Dad, read his blog post here).
I understand that 20205 is to join the ranks of its classmates (known as 'Choppers' by enthusiasts) in action on the national network (including 20189 and 20142) where they are put to a variety of uses day in and day out…
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