The Mid Hants Railway (The Watercress Line) have announced that Class 26 No.D5343 (26043) will be joining the line-up for their Diesel Gala 2018 in Early June.

About No.D5343

The Class 26 joins the gala thanks to the engine’s owners, the Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group (CMDG), based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR).

Joining British Railways (BR) traffic in October 1959, D5343 worked in Scotland whilst under BR ownership, being allocated to Scottish depots such as Haymarket and Dundee. After suffering a major failure, the decision was taken to withdraw the locomotive in January 1993.

Some dismantling work had been carried before the CMDG purchased D5343 later in 1993, mainly removing harmful asbestos insulation in the cab.

2013 was the next time D5343 would haul passenger trains again after almost two decades of restoration. Five years on and the Class 26 has worked many trains, mostly on the GWSR in BR Blue livery.

Diesel Gala 2018

With the edition of D5343 to the line-up, they will be at least one Type 1, 2, 3 and 4 running during the Gala. This event should be added to the RailAdvent Calendar later this month.

• Visit the event’s page on the Mid Hants Railway’s website
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