Locos and Rolling Stock: Locomotives 31 530 "Sister Dora"

31 530 arrives at Dereham on the back of an Allely's lorry. 9th December 2002. Photo: Owen Stratford

On Monday 9th December 2002, 31 530 arrived at Dereham courtesy of Allelys Heavy Haulage, the loco having travelled by road from the EWS Wigan CRDC depot. Due to problems with getting a police escort the loco was not able to complete its trip through Norfolk on the Friday afternoon so had to spend the weekend parked up in a lay-by outside Wisbech on the A47. It must have been quite a spectacle for the road-going public to find a loco parked up in a lay-by! The loco also had the privilege of travelling along the course of the old railway between Wendling and Dereham, where the A47 is built on the trackbed of the Dereham-Lynn line.

D5695 was released to traffic on the 20th April 1961 at Stratford, and would have worked both the GE and West Anglia routes. In November 1965 it was transferred to March MPD until October 1971, when it left to serve some time on the Western Region, being allocated to both Bristol Bath Road and Old Oak Common depots. Like 31 538, it was mothballed in 1980 until it returned to traffic at Immingham having been converted to a 31/4 when ETH equipment was fitted. It then moved to Bescot TMD in 1988.

Whilst at Bescot, the loco gained celebrity status as it was named "Sister Dora" and had brass number plates fitted behind the cab doors and even sported a 2F shed plate. I believe the loco is named after Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison who in 1864 joined the Sisterhood of the Good Samaritan as Sister Dora and was later the superintendent of the Walsall Municipal Hospital. After 31 430 was transferred to infrastructure duties as 31 530, the nameplates were transferred to 37 116.

The loco currently carries faded "Dutch" livery and although it was withdrawn from traffic as late as January 1999, it has been stored in the open which means it will require mechanical work to get it operational again. Only essential work to prevent any further deterioration in its condition will be undertaken during the spring of 2003 as the focus will be finishing off 31 538 first.

Based on an original article by Paul Mobbs, which appeared in Blastpipe number 77.

31 430 at Glasgow Central. 3rd May 1989. Photo: Peter Walters