Class 31 - Railfreight Distribution - 31160

Class 31 - Railfreight Distribution - 31160By the launch of the iconic Roundel designed Railfreight scheme in October 1987 around 30 Class 31s were allocated to the FGWC pool at Tinsley for Speedlink wagonload services. However with the fleet only recently refurbished at Doncaster Works and Railfreight Distribution looking to standardise on Class 37 and 47 motive power there was no hurry to repaint them in its new image. However, following serious fire damage to 31160 the South Yorkshire depot

By the launch of the iconic Roundel-designed Railfreight scheme in October 1987 around 30 Class 31s were allocated to the FGWC pool at Tinsley for Speedlink wagonload services. However with the fleet only recently refurbished at Doncaster Works and Railfreight Distribution looking to standardise on Class 37 and 47 motive power there was no hurry to repaint them in its new image. However, following serious fire damage to 31160 the South Yorkshire depot resurrected and outshopped the Brush machine in November 1989 with a full repaint in the new image with RfD markings making it instantly unique. Typically for Tinsley the makeover was wildly different to any of the other Railfreight repaints that were undertaken around the same time for the Coal, Construction and Petroleum sectors, including large TOPS numbers, a distinctive style of black window surrounds and the location of the body break line between the two shades of grey. This was all finished off with red bufferbeams. Its one-off appearance was compounded just a few days later when the former D5578 was given the unofficial but very appropriate name Phoenix painted over the squadron symbol with a painted representation of the mythical bird surrounded by flames. Sadly within a year Tinsley’s Class 31 fleet had been transferred away and 31160 was stripped back to its basic triple grey scheme for a new life in the Crewe Diesel departmental pool. It was eventually stored unserviceable in March 1996 and was scrapped at Wigan CRDC in June 1999.