26040 Millerhill 12 08 79. Jerry Glover
Renumbered 03/11/73
Last overhaul 02/86 G and HGR; including fitting air-brakes and removing boiler and boiler water tanks
Withdrawn 04/12/92
26040 at Achnasheen in 1979. John Law
64B (Haymarket) 11/09/59 (new)
60A (Inverness) 02/60
61A (Kittybrewster) 04/60
60A (Inverness) 06/60 (became IS)
HA (Haymarket) 17/05/82
IS (Inverness) 15/05/83
HA 10/84
IS 12/84
HA (Haymarket) 11/85
ED (Eastfield) 16/05/87
IS 23/08/92
Stored 01/09/92
IS 26/09/92
Stored 11/10/92
Withdrawn 04/12/92
26040 and 26038 at Inverness with the 1135 2H63 Inverness to Wick on 03/07/85.TZ
04/87 DXX
08/87 FXX
10/87 FGWS
01/88 FXXL
02/88 FGWS
02/89 FGSE
11/89 FPAE
30/09/91 DCHA
03/92 RAJE
01/09/92 RFJX
04/12/92 Withdrawn
FXX Freight/General
FGWS Speedlink/Eastfield
FXXL Freightliner/General
FGSE/FGWS Speedlink/Eastfield
FPAE Petroleum/Eastfield
RAJE Regional/Infrastructure 26s IS
26040 + 26011 at Motherwell TMD on 30/12/91, before running light to Carlisle. TZ
One of the IS engines to carry a stag emblem (white, or black on yellow) in blue (along with 032, 037, 038 and 041).
OMO fitted 02/86
Boiler isolated 06/85
26040 Kyle 2 June 1979. David Hills
Original green; green plus small yellow warning panel; early Class 24-style BR blue; BR blue; Railfreight (02/86); Dutch 11/91
Storage and disposal
Reason for withdrawal: engine and generator defects. Bought privately and stored at Methil Power Station from 1994 to 2002; at Methil West since then…
Last years
15/08/86
1744 Dundee to Perth (dragging failed unit).
25/08/86
Piloting 47430 on 1430 1B34 Inverness to Waverley, from Inverness to Perth.
Friday 26/09/86
6 Kirkcaldys.
01/10/86
1A75 0625 Aberdeen to Inverurie and 1A56 0730 Inverurie to Aberdeen.
04/12/87
26002+26040 return light from Crewe.
06/01/88
3P14 1709 WO Carlisle to Preston vans.
27/07/88
1H13 1333 Queen Street to Inverness; from Stanley Junction to Inverness.
11/10/88
1828 Montrose to Dundee, dragging a unit.
18/10/88
1203 Waverley to Carstairs and 1758 Carstairs to Waverley.
28/10/88
1B29 2216 Carstairs to Waverley.
11/11/88
1B29 2216 Carstairs to Waverley.
Saturday 20/01/90
0925 Aberdeen to Queen Street; working from Dundee to Aberdeen. 47710 blew up at Dundee and 26040 was the AL22 trip engine.
Saturday 10/02/90
1M42 Inverness to Euston; from Perth to Waverley. The duff Duff was detached at Perth and 040 continued to Waverley with the load 9 Clansman.
26040 at Menstrie on 04/01/91 with 6N06. TZ
26024+26040
1O90 1210 Glasgow Central to Brighton; Glasgow to Carlisle via the Sou’West. The train before had been 47209, suggesting a slight shortage of strummers… The 26s departed on time and arrived at Carlisle 14 down; 26040 went back to Polmadie with 47209 (0B00 arriving 1755), 024 returned on its own, arriving Polmadie at 2050.
Wednesday 25/09/91
26003 and 26040 return to Eastfield from Shields Road wheel lathe.
Wednesday 25/10/91
26040 arrived at Eastfield for an E exam. The ex-FPAE machine would become the 9th Class 26 to carry Dutch livery, emerging from Eastfield in mid-November.
26040 + 26011 on 31/12/91 at Carlisle, ready to take the 1318 service to Leeds. TZ
26040+26011
1318 1Z33 Carlisle to Leeds. This relief service was wound up for the cranks by Regional Railways, York. 040 and 011 ran light from ED to Carlisle via ML the day before. 47475 was in the consist as an ETHEL. On arrival at Leeds, the pair returned light to Carlisle and then on to ML at 1900.
Tuesday 10/03/92
26040 fails on the 6G47 0350 TuThO Mossend to Thornton Tiger Freightways service. 26005 was despatched from Grangemouth to assist to Thornton. 040 was battered at Thornton, but the Millerhill driver then assigned to return 040 reported the loco was producing only 600amps with the handle right back.
Thursday 12/03/92
Despite this low power, 26040 works the 7S43 ThO Sellafield to Torness nukex. 040 ran light from Millerhill to Carlisle to pick up the flask, and worked back to Millerhill where a T took over. 26040 then worked 6N29 0718 Millerhill to Grangemouth, a cement train normally 47-hauled.
26040 + 26001 at Manchester Victoria on the Barrow service on 25/04/92. TZ
Network Northwest Day. 26001+26040 were due to work the 0852 Manchester Victoria to Barrow and return, but nothing on the day went smoothly!
The farce began with 26001 and 26002 being allocated for the duty and both were assigned special tests at Eastfield. Five minutes before their departure to Manchester, 002 was failed with its by now customary low power fault. 26040 had arrived at Eastfield earlier that day with the AT52 ballast trip, so that was grabbed instead… The pair departed and headed for Newton Heath, Manchester, with a six hour fester at Carlisle en route.
Almost as soon as the train departed Manchester Victoria, it was apparent to most on board that there was a problem with the brakes on the second loco. Unfortunately the traincrew took another 8 miles to realise and the rain stopped only because the guard had had the good sense to apply the brake before Bolton. 26001’s straight air brake had not been released after tying the locos on…
At Bolton, 001 was dumped in the through road and 040 carried on solo. However, it got as far as Lostock when one of the coaches needed attention to its brakes. There was a delay of around 40 minutes, and, with 040 suffering from low power, Preston was finally reached a mere 90 down. The train was caped and both 26s were back on Eastfield on Monday evening. No apparent problems were found on 001’s bogies.
Thursday 07/05/92
Intercity had hired two RAJV 37s from ScotRail to cover the Royal Scotsmen summer diagrams, so both Perth ballast turns were rediagrammed for Type Twos. 26004 and 26040 were despatched from Eastfield to Perth to work the AL0x series of trips. However, 040’s stay proved to be extremely short, as it failed the next day at Perth Yard on AL04. 26006 arrived the day after from Eastfield to replace it.
Tuesday 01/09/92
26040 was towed to Inverness by 47673 and was stored unserviceable the same day. 040 had been stopped since early June at Eastfield with low power problems, and the depot had never got round to repairing it, owing to the rundown of the depot and a backlog of T repairs.
Friday 25/09/92
A decision is made to reprieve 26040. A plan was hatched where a power unit swap would take place in Mossend Yard with the ex-Eastfield breakdown crane doing the lifting. This budget solution was a way to avoid the expense of going off-region to lift, or entering Glasgow Works. The donor loco was going to be 26024, which had yet to be condemned.
In the event, it didn’t happen. 26040 did leave Inverness on 05/10/92, towed by 37087… but while en route, the Maintenance Controller learned of a new T allocation coming to Scotland, so the power swap was caped.
Friday 04/12/92
26040 was withdrawn.
26040 at Inverness on 29/06/78. David Hills
6LDA Class 26 
26040 is now operating at Whitrope Heritage Centre south of Hawick on the B6399 TD9 9TY.
The engine has recently been restarted after 17 years & traction achieved June ‘22 for the first time since being decommissioned in ‘92.
26040 is currently undergoing recommision, regularly exercised on open days & is hoped to return to operating a service in the very near future as work continues apace.
The only ‘unopened’ class 26 still running as it left service with BR.
I.