GCR Class 47 to move to BREL for repairs

Preserved Class 47 D1705 Sparrowhawk, which is based at the Great Central Railway, will move to Boden Rail Engineering Ltd’s Washwood Heath depot after the GCR’s March 28/29 gala.

It will be out of traffic for nine months undergoing repairs to badly leaking roof panels and to its silencer. It will also receive a body lift to replace a defective bogie spring that restricts the locomotive to a maximum 40mph.

Once the work is completed, D1705 will be repainted by BREL into authentic early-1970s guise as 1705.

• For more on this story, see RAIL 768, published on February 18.