Class 40 Preservation Society engineer resigns - society rejects offers to buy loco

The Class 40 Preservation Society has had to temporarily suspend main line running, owing to issues with D345 and the resignation of its chief engineer. It also says it has rejected two offers to buy one of its locomotives.

As issue with the main generator on D345 saw it pulled from two charter trains on October 19 and November 30. The first train was cancelled, but Pathfinder Railtours has kept the second train in its programme, which will now be worked by two West Coast Railways Class 37s.

Speaking of his resignation, Alex Williams said: “Following work this week on D345 at Carnforth, an internal fault was found by independent engineers using a borescope on the generator on D345.

“A field coil was in contact at one edge with the fibreglass banding, along with a low armature resistance reading which indicated zero volts. Both faults prevent further use of the locomotive in the foreseeable future.

“As engineer, it has been my sole responsibility to ensure D345 is both safe and fit for main line, and of late that task has been difficult to undertake without the support of the committee.

“To this end, I have tendered my resignation as CFPS Engineering Officer. I had already made the decision not to re-stand for election in January 2025 as the society, I feel, is not going in the right direction with the offers to buy CFPS locomotives being made.”

The CFPS replied with a statement of its own, which read: “Today [Monday October 21] Alex Williams, Head of Engineering, tendered his resignation with immediate effect. Alex has kindly agreed to continue to work on the CFPS’s locomotives going forward. The CFPS would like to thank Alex for his hard work and leadership from the engineering team since spring 2022 and the CFPS offers its best wishes for the future.”

It also explained the issue with D345: “After the locomotive was returned to WCR on October 8, WCR was requested to carry out an independent examination of our locomotive, after the CFPS Board of Trustees took the difficult decision to withdraw it from main line operations due to a reoccurring loss of power fault which caused issues on two charters - to Salisbury in November 2023 and to Skegness in July.

“Damage has been found to the main generator and we were advised not to run D345, due to the very high risk that further damage could be caused to the generator. The CFPS has been vindicated in its difficult decision to withdraw the locomotive from main line operations.

“The CFPS is assessing the next steps required to ensure the locomotive is returned to main line condition. We would like to thank our engineering team, who have worked tirelessly to identify the fault on D345.”

The CFPS committee has also told its members that it has unanimously rejected two bids for its locomotives. Once came from an existing Class 40 owner who enquired about the possibility of purchasing 40135 (which has not run since 2020 and has a defective crankshaft), with a view to returning it to the main line.

A second offer for one of the CFPS’s three locomotives (40106, 40135 and D345) was also rejected, although the membership was not consulted over either offer.

The CFPS said: “There are rumours circulating on social media that it is in the process of selling one or more of its locomotives. This is categorically NOT the case. The CFPS was approached regarding 40135 and the committee was unanimous in turning down this approach. This remains the case.”