The Class 56 Group

Technical / Hands on

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Like all preservation groups that operate one or more large main line locomotives the class 56 locomotive group rely on a dedicated team of engineering volunteers. The teams efforts are concentrated on the restoration and scheduled maintenance of the locomotives to keep them in operating condition but also with the repairs associated with operating on preserved railways. As ever this is always a rewarding challenge and volunteers with no previous experience or skills are welcome as there are a wide variety of tasks that need to be performed from the not so technical to the technical and in all areas guidance will be given by the groups technical officers.

At the moment as both the locomotives are currently based at UKRL at Leicester unfortunately it is not possible for volunteers to access the site and work on the locomotives as the site is a mainline operating depot. However the class 56 group is actively seeking to move one of the locomotives to a preserved railway in the next few months so group members can see and travel behind their locomotive. This move to regular operation on a preserved railway will require an increase in volunteer involvement with volunteers working on the locomotive to keep them in running order so if you fancy a challenge and are willing to learn please register your interest with the group.