Lots of discussion all over the internet. The crane arrived safely in Margam on Monday afternoon. This morning we ran her up and separated the bogies from the crane. Now loaded onto the lorry ready to head to her new home tomorrow. It’s been a very busy few days but we are extremely pleased to be able to give this magnificent machine a new home

I can now officially let the cat out of the bag - official press release below, but as suggested, ADRC 96714 will be preserved on the Gwili Railway. It was 11 months ago that myself and one of the company directors went to inspect the crane at Wigan Springs branch. Plans to move the crane by road were scuppered by roadworks and the discovery of a weak bridge. Hence last weeks move by rail from Wigan to Port Talbot and then by road to Carmarthen. Having unloaded the crane, we have now started re-commissioning work to check her over and test all the systems.

An enormous thank you to the Science Museum, Network Rail, The Transport Trust, DB and Rail Support Services who all came together to make this happen.

The Welsh Railways Trust (WRT) and the Gwili Railway are pleased to announce its latest arrival, 75T Breakdown Crane ADRC 96714, thanks to the support of the Science Museum Group and Network Rail. The crane will significantly increase the lifting capability of the Gwili Railway and will also play a key part in the railway’s northern extension towards Llanpumsaint.

Crane ADRC 96714 was manufactured by Cowans Sheldon in Carlisle, entering service with British Railway in 1980 as part of the modernisation of recovery operations. Operating across the United Kingdom, the crane was based in South Wales from 1983 until 2008. The crane remained in operation until 2017. In 1999, the crane was fully overhauled, and in the same year, due to the historical significance of these pioneering breakdown cranes, the Railway Heritage Committee (RHC) selected crane ADRC 96714 to be preserved at the end of its working life.

In 2019, the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board (RHDAB) – the successor body to the RHC, which reports to the trustees of the Science Museum Group - identified ADRC 96714 as a candidate for transfer to a new home. Following a process of due diligence with a number of interested parties, the Welsh Railways Trust were announced as the successful recipient of the crane.
Following six months of planning, the crane was successfully delivered to Bronwydd Arms on the 16th/17th December. The transport of this large crane was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Transport Trust.

Matt Bowen, WRT Trustee and Chairman of the Gwili Railway said: “We’d like to thank the RHDAB, the Science Museum Group, Network Rail, DB Cargo and Railway Support Services for all their help and assistance in making this happen. We are extremely pleased to be able to bring this piece of important railway history back to South Wales, for both display to the public and use in service as part of our plant and equipment.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester, RHDAB’s co-chair said: “We were very keen to ensure that this crane could be preserved. Having identified it as an artefact which represents a significant part of our nation’s railway story, we are delighted that it will have a future in heritage preservation and will be used to develop the Welsh Railway Trust. I would like to express my thanks to Network Rail, DB Cargo and the GwiliRailway for making this happen.”

Jonathan Evans, Network Rail’s Business Development Manager said “we are very pleased that Crane 14 is heading to a new home, close to where it spent much of its working lifein South Wales. It was important to us help make the transfer as smooth as possible. Mark Bowler, our Fleet Engineer has worked with the WRT to provide the records anddocumentation for the crane along with a package of spares that will help keep it operational and available to support the railway’s future expansion plans”.

Seen a comment that at least one of the cranes is waiting for export.

_________________
Bryan

http://www.nymr-pway.co.uk/

96710 being exported through Southampton Docks on 2nd March.
https://twitter.com/SolentStevedore/sta ... 1679110148

Anyone know where it is off to?

Twitter suggests she maybe heading Egypt (no conformation)