55019 returned to Barrow Hill at the end of October 2025 as planned with the engineering team. This was to allow us the longest possible time to get the locomotive ready for 2027. Once the locomotive was on shed the team began a series of exams to ascertain the current condition of the locomotive and its various systems. Work has been progressing with the cab overhaul program.The team has now stripped most of the paint from the no1 end cab back to bare metal. This will allow

The restoration of Tulyar has now reached the point where the engineers can begin the long awaited “Return To Service” exam, after the faults with the vacuum brake system were rectified. The loco now has a full dual brake system. Part of the big exam is having the tachometers calibrated, and Geoff Armstrong visited the depot on Tuesday 10th February and calibrated all three locos. Alycidon received some attention to small snags revealed during the recent test day and the stri

21/1/26. A day of testing at Barrow Hill in miserable midwinter weather saw 55009 making multiple trips along the branch at Barrow Hill. Test runs were undertaken using the recently refurbished power unit 430, which was started in December for the first time in 44 years. The loco was also run on its second unit, PU408, and finished the day with a few twin engine runs. As is to be expected, the test runs showed up a few very minor issues which were addressed by the engineers a

We are getting close to the point where D9015 Tulyar is ready for its big “return to service” exam, after which it will enter a period of testing to accumulate some miles and iron out whatever teething troubles crop up. Only after this has been completed to the engineering teams satisfaction will the loco be released for traffic to heritage railways. On completion of the testing, the first trains to run will be for DPS members only and we anticipate there will be a big demand