The sixteen year three month career of D5252/25102 saw allocations to London Midland Region & Eastern Region depots.
Built: BR Derby Locomotive Works.
Boiler room grilles sheeted over.
Time between last Classified repair and withdrawal: 48 months.
Time between withdrawal & scrapping: 5 months.
Allocations
D5252 was new to Toton (16A) on February 21st 1964. Further transfers were:
May 1964 to Derby (16D).
January 1965 to Nottingham Division (D16).
February 1965 to London Midland (Midland) Lines (LMML).
April 1965 to Leicester Divison (D15).
December 1965 to Thornaby (51L).
December 1965 to Leicester Division (D15) on loan.
January 1966 to Thornaby (51L).
May 1966 to Holbeck (55A).
December 1967 to Carlisle (12A), on loan, made permanent January 1968.
May 1968 to Allerton (8J).
June 1968 to Liverpool Division D08.
November 1970 to Nottingham Division (D16).
March 1971 to Liverpool Division (D08).
April 1972 to Nottingham Division (D16).
June 1972 to Liverpool Division (D08).
December 1972 to Nottingham Division (D16).
May 1973 to Toton.
January 1976 to Longsight.
Withdrawn May 11th 1980.
Renumbered April 1974.
25102 was the 31st Class 25 to be withdrawn, one of two retired during May 1980.
After withdrawal 25102 was moved between August 12th & 14th (with 25204) as the 9X34 00.05 Crewe - Swindon, and scrapped by the last week of October 1980.
Works Visits
Works visits (records incomplete).
Noted Crewe Works July 1966.
Noted Derby Works August 1967.
Noted Derby Works February 1971.
Noted Derby Works April 1976.
Highlights
1964
The frame for D5252 was laid down at Derby in the last quarter of 1963. It would be part of a large batch of diesels destined for replacing steam traction on the lines northwards from St Pancras. This batch of Type 2s were intended primarily for freight working hence they were built without train heating boilers, although from time to time, particularly in the summer months they might be found on passenger workings.
D5252 made its Works test trip to Corby on February 19th 1964.
During May D5252 was transfered to Derby (16D).
1966
In a very short lived inter-regional transfer between Leicester/Nottingham and Thornaby D5248 - D5256 were exchanged for D5370 - D5378. The actual transfer of D5248/49/50 and D5370/71/72 occurred on New Year’s Day with the Class 25s being sent north from Leicester, the Class 27s coming down from Thornaby, the crews changing at Masborough! The re-allocation records show D5248/49/50 being transfered in December 1965, the remainder in January 1966.
Their stay at Thornaby was brief, all were transferred to Leeds Holbeck (55A), the majority in May except for D5254/55 in June and D5256 in October. They were to be used on the summer seasonal traffic generated from the Leeds area, hopefully without the need to use local steam power.
D5252 visited Crewe Works during July.
1967
On August 10th D5252 and a Class 45 were noted passing Normanton with Midland Railway 4-2-2 No.118 and a brakevan.
Condition August 10th: two-tone green livery with small yellow warning panels, no blanking plates, hand/footholds present, straight sided sandboxes, three-rung bogie mounted footsteps, engine exhaust in original position.
Derby Works was visited by D5252 in August possibly receiving freshly painted full yellow ends but retaining the two tone green livery. Red buffer beams, yellow axle boxes and the steam heat connections had also been touched-up in their respective colours.
By the beginning of November another thirty Class 25s had been transferred to the north west, along with a number of shunters and Classes 40 & 47, during October alone over eighty steam locomotives were withdrawn from the LMR, all from sheds located between the Mersey and the Solway. Included in the newly arriving Type 2s were D5151 – D5155, loaned to Carlisle from Thornaby, whilst in December Carlisle (12A) received D5248 – D5251 from Leeds Holbeck and D5252 - D5256 were transferred from within the LMR. Closed to steam early in November were the sheds at Stoke, Crewe South and Birkenhead, with Warrington and Springs Branch closed by month end. Northwich still held onto a number of steam diagrams but increasingly everywhere in the north-west the Classes 25 & 40 were to be found taking over the steam turns.
1971
During February 5252 was at Derby Works for repair, after release it was transferred to the Liverpool Division (D08).
1974
On June 29th the 09.19 Manchester Piccadilly - Yarmouth was worked to Lincoln Central by 25102 & 25088, returning from there with the 09.15 Yarmouth - Manchester Piccadilly.
August was a busy month for 25102, on August 10th a roundtrip Derby - Skegness was worked by 25102 & 25095. On August 26th a roundtrip Nottingham - Skegness was worked by 25102 & 25129, whilst on August 31st 25102 & 25057 worked the Derby - Norwich - Yarmouth - Norwich - Walsall diagram.
1975
On May 24th the 08.00 Walsall - Yarmouth was worked by 25102 & 25083 from Leicester to Norwich. They returned from Norwich with the 14.15 Yarmouth - Derby. The next day (25th) the same paired worked the 09.10 Derby - Skegness and the return 18.15 Skegness - Derby.
On June 21st the 07.35 Nottingham - Llandudno Town and the return 14.00 Llandudno Town - Nottingham were worked by 25102.
25102 and another Class 25 worked a roundtrip Nottingham - Skegness relief on August 16th.
On August 23rd 25102 & 25049 worked the 08.00 Walsall - Yarmouth to Norwich, returning from Norwich with the 14.15 Yarmouth - Derby.
1976
25102 was the Manchester Victoria banker (T42) on February 28th.
25102 was the Manchester Victoria pilot on a wet March 3rd.
25102 visited Derby Works for a Classified repair during April, which included its repaint from green to blue livery, it was the second to last Class 25 to carry green livery, eclipsed only by 25043 which was repainted blue at Derby a couple of months later. However perhaps it should be noted that 25102 was the last Class 25 to carry the two tone green livery, the livery carried by 25043 was the solid brunswick green with full yellow cab ends. This would be the last major Works visit for 25102.
The last Class 25s to be delivered in two-tone green livery were D7622 & D7623 during October 1966 to Eastfield (65A). It would take almost ten years for the two-tone livery to disappear from the Class 25s, as recorded above 25102 would be the last Class 25 to carry this fine livery. The two-tone green would linger for a short while on a handful of Class 47s, whilst several Class 08s & 20s still carried green livery.
On August 14th the 08.48 Manchester Piccadilly - Skegness and the return 12.30 Skegness - Manchester Piccadilly were worked by 25102 & 25186.
1977
25102 was noted at Frodingham along with 25176 & 25212.
25102 was the Manchester Victoria pilot on September 2nd.
1978
25102 was the Manchester Victoria pilot on April 8th.
Condition April: blue/yellow livery, boiler room grilles sheeted over, hand/footholds sheeted over, straight sided sandboxes, two-rung bogie mounted footsteps (present prior to its 1976 Derby Works visit).
On August 31st 25102 worked the 07.47 Manchester Victoria - Bangor and the return 11.30 Bangor - Manchester Victoria.
1979
25102 was the Manchester Victoria pilot on April 17th.
25102 & 40004 were noted light engines between Great Rocks & Buxton on September 20th.
1980
25102 was withdrawn on May 11th 1980. 25102 was due a major shopping, which was presumably declined due to a surplus of locomotives.
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Page added February 28th 2004.
Last updated February 13th 2020.