Welcome to the Class 40 Appeal

 

Class 40 Appeal was founded in 1985 by a group of enthusiasts and railway staff determined to try and save an English Electric Type 4 (BR Class 40) locomotive, restore her to full working order and operate the loco on one of Britain's preserved railways.

This was achieved in September 1988, when the group successfully purchased 40012 AUREOL from the scrap line at Carlisle Kingmoor. On the 7th September the loco was towed from Carlisle to Vic Berry's Yard at Leicester for asbestos removal, before moving to her new home at the Midland Railway Centre.

Once the loco had arrived at its new home, work started almost immediately on restoring the loco back to full working order. This was a task which was to take us just over four years to complete, with thousands of man hours being spent on the project.

By early 1992 the loco was cosmetically restored and made her first public appearance at the Longsight depot open day weekend where she stole the show. During the event the name AUREOL was rededicated to the loco by fellow rail enthusiast Mr.Pete Waterman.

On Sunday afternoon the 18th October 1992, the loco burst into life for the first time in preservation during the Autumn diesel gala at the Midland Railway Centre. A day the working members and C.F.A. members present will remember for many years to come.

Another date which will go down in the groups history book was Saturday 17th July 1993, when 212 AUREOL made her first public run in preservation.

With AUREOL now fully restored, the group was looking at expanding its locomotive fleet, but with no further class 40's for sale we decided to try and purchase a English Electric Type 3 ( BR Class 37) to join its big sister at the Midland Railway Centre.

37190 " DALZELL" was officially withdrawn from traffic in July 1992 at Cardiff Canton depot and placed into store at Gateshead depot pending possible reinstatement at a later date. However this never materialised and during the Summer of 1994 the loco was offered up for sale instead. The group submitted a tender and was successful in purchasing the loco. Like 40012, the loco was in pretty bad shape and needed a lot of hard work to restore her to full running order once again.

Following the successful purchase of 37190, the group tendered for 50007 " SIR EDWARD ELGAR " which gained its celebrity status back in 1984 when she became the only class member to be painted in Brunswick Green Livery, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Composer's death and as a prelude to the Great Western Railways 150th Anniversary Celebrations. The loco was also one of the last remaining two Class 50's on BR's books and hauled the last class 50 railtour with sister loco 50050 the " 50 Terminator" from London Waterloo to Penzance and back into London Paddington on Saturday 26th March 1994. The following day both locos travelled light engine from Reading depot to Laira for the very last time in BR ownership.

50007 was finally withdrawn from operating stock at 12:00 mid day on 31st March 1994. The loco was later offered up for sale and successfully purchased by three members of the group.

Aims and Achievements.

The main aims of the group is to preserve, restore, exhibit and operate a English Electric Type 4 diesel locomotive ( later known as Class 40's ). So far the group has been highly successful in its achievements and as also acquired a Class 37 and Class 50 locomotive which are all based at the Midland Railway Centre.

Since the group was formed back in 1985, many thousands of man hours have already been spent restoring the locos to their former glory, which allows enthusiasts of today to still enjoy the delights of seeing and travelling behind these fine locos in full operational status. With over fifteen years of active preservation behind us, the Class 40 Appeal has already made significant contributions towards the modern day preservation movement and hopefully will continue to do so for many years to come.

Midland Railway Centre.

At present all three locomotives are housed at the Midland Railway Centre, a line chosen for its main line connection and central location making it easy for most people to reach. The M.R.C. also encourages Modern Diesel Traction and now houses one of the largest collections of modern day traction in the country. The centre is also building a modern traction diesel depot which will provide essential accommodation and repair facilities to help keep these locomotives running for future generations to enjoy.

The centre also operates a number of diesel gala's throughout the year and a monthly steam and diesel weekend, plus Drive Experience days using one of the locomotives based at the centre.

Working Members.

As a group, we are always looking for new members to join our friendly working parties so if you fancy becoming involved in the restoration of these giants then please contact us for further details. No technical or mechanical experience is needed as training will be given. All you need is a pair of overalls and boots and no objections to getting covered in oil and dirt. On the bright side you get plenty of opportunities for cab rides and a sense of achievement seeing the locos running after all your hard work.