Old Train, New Life

When you have a 50 year old locomotive that has been left standing for 10 years, it is little wonder that coaxing it back into life might present a few problems. Brett Pearce, MSST for Pirtek Chesterfield, has been involved in several such projects for Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) at the company’s Barrow Hill depot near Staveley in Derbyshire.

The company started in 1990 by hiring shunters, but now fulfils a market demand by providing locomotives for companies where a purchase would be unviable. The locomotives are rescued, stripped down, the engines rebuilt or replaced before the six-month long process of returning the loco to active service. The company owns 150+ locomotives that are in various states of overhaul, the biggest privately owned train fleet in the country.

“The biggest challenge with overhauls on this scale, is finding appropriate parts that meet today's health and safety specifications. Luckily we have Brett and Pirtek Chesterfield to fall back on,” says manager James Williams. “They have been able to provide silicon and fire retardant hoses as well as water, coolant and oil hoses, to say nothing of the work they have done on the braking and fire systems.”

According to Williams, Pirtek Chesterfield has risen to every challenge HNRC has thrown at them. “When we were overhauling a class 47, we discovered it had some weird hydrostatic hoses that powered the cooling fans directly from the engine. These were specified at 2,000psi. Pirtek Chesterfield even managed to find a solution on those. But it’s their ability to work alongside our hire customers that really sets them apart,” concludes James Williams. "We have 15 locomotivess out on hire at the moment to the likes of Corus, Lafarge and Northern Rail. Together with the Pirtek national network, Pirtek Chesterfield is able to look after our locomotives, regardless of their geographic location.”