Locos of the RTC

Derby’s Railway Technical Centre has been home to an eclectic mix of department locomotives over the years, and in Part 1 of a full survey, Gareth Bayer rounds up those that saw active use.

- Gareth Bayer

SINCE Privatisation in the mid-1990s, the distinction between the ‘departmental’ and‘normal’ fleets has become blurred to the point of irrelevance as traditional non-revenue earning roles – like maintenance and renewal of the permanent way, track testing and rolling stock commissioning – have become money earners for freight operators, infrastructure specialists, and locomotive owners.

Although Network Rail retains a small group of dedicated locos for special duties, the 1970s and 80s were the quintessential era of the departmental locomotive. Barely a depot or works open day went by without one or more of the famous red/blue-liveried fleet being there. The eclectic list of 97xxx and ADB, RDB and TDB-prefixed machines at the rear of our dog-eared stock books, often the final survivors of long-withdrawn loco types, was guaranteed to provoke a deep fascination.