Published: 11th September 2015
The main freight operator, DB Schenker (DBS) has declared ten locomotives as surplus to requirements and has offered them for sale by tender. These are the half a century old Class 08 350HP 0-6-0 DM shunting engines.
These are numbered and located at:
08580 Bescot
08709 Bescot
08567 Crewe
08593 Crewe
08714 Crewe
08824 Crewe
08865 Crewe
08578 Toton
08653 Toton
08701 Toton
These locomotives are offered sold as seen and as and where lying, and it will be the buyers’ who collect and pay for their removal.
To make a bid, those interested have to register their interest to comply with the DBS “Guide to making an offer for a Locomotive.” Registrations of interest must be e-mailed to Stella.Horrocks@dbschenker.com but postal registrations of interest can also be made to Stella Horrocks quoting ref SH/Sept 15/Shunters
To:
DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd.
Toton TMD
Toton Sidings
Stapleford
Nottingham
NG10 1HA.
Applications must be made by 12 noon on Tuesday 22nd September 2015 after which the actual Tender documents will be issued.
Each locomotive has had a reserve price allocated to it and are subject to a competitive open tender in accordance with the DBS “Code of Practice for the identification, Sale and/or Disposal of Surplus Locomotives”.
It will be possible to visit the locomotives but only by prior arrangement and all tenderers will be offered a visit. The DBS code of practice insists that “these locomotives shall be disposed of in a manner which is fair and non-discriminatory and which complies with safety and environmental considerations”.
Once the winning bidders have been selected, a contract for the sale will be awarded to the Tenderer(s) with the highest value offered over the set reserve price. But it is not only the price that will count as speed of collection will also be a deciding criteria in deciding who makes the winning bid.
Once the formal Sales Acceptance(s) has been issued to the successful Tenderer(s), then compliance will be rigidly enforced in accordance with the contract terms agreed. If these are not complied with then stabling or cancellation charges may be applied. The full details of the Code of Practice and Standard Conditions of Sale will be issued with the Tender documents.
And the final caveat, the locomotives may be withdrawn from sale at any time!
Each locomotive will be in a different condition. Tyre thickness, engine hours and the condition of the braking system will all be a factor in deciding the price. If any of them are dual braked then how easily the vacuum system can be restored will also be an important factor. This would be used by a preserved railway, as the overwhelming majority of services used involve use of vacuum brakes as opposed to air brakes.
The fleet at its height numbered over 800 and some were extremely hard to see being hidden away in freight yards. But now over 50 years after their introduction, the supply of this class of engine is finite. And as such means that despite the price of scrap being around £60 a ton, these 50 ton engines may be worth far more for spares. So depending on the amount of bidders and what they may be wanted for, the price could be around £20,000 for one in good condition.
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