26026 in February 1981 on the postal out of Aberdeen. Mike Cooper
Renumbered 23/02/74
Last overhaul 07/85 G and HGR; including fitting air-brakes and removing boiler and boiler water tanks
Withdrawn 24/11/92
26026 near Achnashellach on 22/06/81. David Hills
64B (Haymarket) 22/05/59 (new)
60A (Inverness) 11/60
64B (Haymarket) 05/69
IS (Inverness) 25/10/75
HA (Haymarket) 03/10/81
IS 12/84
HA 11/05/86
ED (Eastfield) 16/05/87
ED 16/05/87
IS (Inverness) 23/08/92
Withdrawn 24/11/92
26026 (vb, sh) at Glasgow Central on 23/07/84 on the 1345 1M03 to Carlisle.
04/87 FXX
07/87 FGWS
01/88 FXXA
02/88 DXXD
05/88 DCHA
03/92 RAJE
11/92 RFJX
24/11/92 Withdrawn
FXX Freight General
FGWS Speedlink Eastfield
FXXA Speedlink General
DCHA/RAJE ScotRail Departmental Civil Engineer
RAJE Regional/Infrastructure IS
Notes
OMO fitted 02/86.
First 26 in Railfreight livery 07/85
26026+26034 on a passenger turn out of Inverness in 1983. Dave Newman
Original green; green plus small yellow warning panel; BR Blue; RailFreight (07/85); Dutch (11/90)
Storage and disposal
Stopped September 1992 with asbestos cladding on exhaust manifold and withdrawn in November, despite good mechanical condition. Cut M C Metals 06/95.
Last years
26/08/86
2G31 1705 Edinburgh to Cardenden; 2G24 1840 Cardenden-Edinburgh (air-conditioned stock).
23/06/88
0730 Stranraer to Glasgow; from Stranraer to Ayr.
30/07/88
1S52 1114 Manchester to Edinburgh; from Penrith to Carlisle.
31/08/88
Conflicting gen has 026 on either the 2K14 Kirkcaldy to Waverley or 2G42 0647 Markinch to Waverley.
20/10/88
1525 Waverley to Inverness (0835 Euston to Inverness ‘The Clansman’); load 8 from Waverley to Perth.
21/10/88
1B29 2216 Carstairs to Waverley.
Tuesday 13/02/90
2100 1Y11 Euston to Fort William; from Glasgow Central to Dumbarton Central, via Rutherglen West to North and Glasgow Central low level. The tractor had burst at Central, so 26026 came off Polmadie. As 26026 was taking the train through this pretty huge route for a Type Two, a T was coming off Eastfield and running light to Dumbarton to replace 26026.
Wednesday 21/03/90
1510 Aberdeen to Queen Street; from Perth to Queen Street.
26026 on shed at Eastfield in October 1991. TZ
26026 5Z26 Perth to Carlisle with a van for a kettle trip.
26026+26004 1130 Waverley to Inverness on 27/06/92. TZ
26004+26026
1130 Waverley to Inverness and 1627 Inverness to Waverley. This time we made it both ways!
Tuesday 07/07/92
26026 worked the 2Z01 inspection saloon around branches in the Glasgow area.
26026 and 26025 at Dalmally with the 1Z47 0835 Waverley to Oban on 12/07/92. TZ
26026 and 26025 at Oban with the 1Z48 Adex to Waverley on 12/07/92. TZ
26026+26025
1Z47 0835 Waverley to Oban; 1Z48 Oban to Waverley; from Oban to Dumbarton Central.
26042+26036 1Z48 Oban to Waverley; Dumbarton Central to Waverley.
Another ScotRail adex which 6LDA member Andrew Dzikowskyj ‘suggested’ would be a good turn for a pair of 26s in their final year, and which Peter Brown, ScotRail Resources Manager, arranged.
The train left Waverley all right, but 26025 shut down at Polmont. After a delay of 25 minutes, it was restarted, but managed to work only as far as Craigendoran Junction, leaving 26026 to drag it and the train to Oban up some of the fearsome West Highland gradients! 26025 was restarted by the crew every time we stopped for tokens, but would power for only a few miles before shutting down again. It has to be said that 26026 saved the day: although there were times when the train was down to walking pace, it just kept thrashing away.
On the return from Oban, 026 was again left to do all the work right from the start of Glencruitten… Fortunately, a second pair of 26s had been arranged to take over from 026 at Dumbarton Central when it had become apparent how poorly 025 was, so 26042+26036 replaced 025+026 at Dumbarton Central had a very spirited run back to Waverley by a driver keen to recover time.
Saturday 18/07/92
26026 dragged 26015, 26021 and 26027 to Perth where they would be dumped as ‘Christmas Trees’ behind the famous wall. With the closure of Eastfield, they were moved to Perth to be robbed/forwarded to Inverness as required.
Sunday 09/08/92
26026+26005
1V58 Edinburgh to Penzance; Barrhead to Carlisle. Outrageous. One of the power cars had its fire bell ringing at Central. Despite attention by fitters, the fault continued. The rear power car was shut down. The train set off, but, on arrival at Barrhead, the driver announced the front power car had shut down as well… 005+026 were put together at Polmadie and sent to the rescue, along with the special HST coupling. On arrival at Carlisle, the pair was removed for a Spoon.
24/11/92
The ScotRail Class 26 requirement was reduced and 26004 was withdrawn, along with 26011, 26026 and 26041.
