I took this image on Saturday 25 February 2006, when I was working the early turn at Woofferton
Junction signal box. Preserved English Electric/Vulcan Foundry class 40 No. 40145 is pictured here
thundering through Woofferton on the Shrewsbury – Hereford line at 1238 hrs with Pathfinder Tours’
The Welsh Whistler.
The tour departed Birmingham New Street at 0727 hrs for Chester via Stafford, Stoke, Stockport and
Manchester Piccadilly. From there it was via Shrewsbury and the Welsh Marches for Cardiff.
The Whistler was behind schedule by the time it thundered through Woofferton, having been delayed
by a late running of 1V55. Unable to make up time, the tour arrived at Cardiff at 1410 hrs, about 30
minutes late.
The reason 40145 looks in such pristine condition is that its repainting by volunteers at Barrow
Roundhouse, Chesterfield, had been completed only a few hours prior to it hauling the tour.
How do I know? One of the volunteers who’d been up all night doing the repainting turned up at
Woofferton about twenty minutes before 40145 came through. He reckoned the paint was probably
still wet in certain places.
Originally, 40145 was one of a class of 200 1Co-Co-1 diesel electric locos built by English Electric
Vulcan Foundry between 1958 and 1962. Completed at Newton-le-Willows, as D345 she entered
service on 17 May 1961, and was allocated to Leeds Nevill Hill motive power depot. During service
lasting 22 years 24 days, the loco was reallocated several times including to York, Healey Mills, and
Haymarket. Renumbered 40145 under the TOPS scheme, the loco was withdrawn on 10 June 1983,
her records stating it was due to collision damage.
In all seven class 40 locos have been preserved.
Clive is our Transport and Railway writer, with years of experience he is a fount of knowledge on all things transport nostalgia.
