OFFERED for sale earlier this year by Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC), No. 20087 has been bought for preservation, and arrived at the Kent & East Sussex Railway on November 11. The English Electric Type 1 has been purchased by the owner of two preserved industrial Austerity steam locos, Sapper and Swiftsure. It has recently undergone restoration by Heritage Rail Traction Supplies at the Battlefield Line, where it had been located since moving from Worksop in August 2021.
The Kent & East Sussex Railway has identified a requirement for two operational diesels for the whole of 2024, which is its 50th anniversary year, and No. 20087 will be based on the line for the entire year, working alongside resident Class 14 No. D9504. A further loco is planned to be hired in for the summer period. In 2023, the line hired No. 33202 , and the ‘Crompton’ returned to the Mid-Norfolk Railway at the end of October in
