Class 57 57303 will be operating on the Nene Valley Railway during the GB Railfreight Weekend on Sunday September 8 2024.
Above: 57303 hauls Class 379s 379003 and 379012 from Worksop Down Yard to Hornsey EMU Depot on May 24 2024. Paul Clark.
57303 is one five Class 57s which joined the GBRf fleet in 2023. The five locomotives came from Direct Rail Services which has been reducing its fleet and consists of 57301, 57303, 57305, 57306 and 57310. 57303 started life as Class 47 D1957 which was completed at Brush Works in Loughborough in 1967. It became 47261 in the early 1970s when the TOPS numbering system was introduced and was later modified with Electric Train Heating equipment to become part of the Class 47/4 fleet as 47554. Its next revision was to become push-pull fitted Class 47/7 47705.
In the early 2000s it was selected for rebuilding into a Class 57/3 for Virgin Trains. This sub-class was built to provide 'Thunderbird' cover on the West Coast Main Line as well as for hauling Class 390 Pendolinos from Crewe to Holyhead. It was named Alan Tracy in Virgin Trains ownership.
The rebuild saw the locomotive fully overhauled and equipped with an EMD 12-645 engine together with a refurbished alternator to give it a new lease of life. It was later modified with the addition of a Dellner coupling built into the cab front. Following series with Virgin Trains, 57303 passed into the Network Rail fleet before moving on to Direct Rail Services.
With its latest owner, 57303 will be used for rolling stock movements and seasonal Rail Head Treatment Trains amongst its duties. Travel behind this locomotive at the GB Railfreight Weekend on September 8 2024.
