- Numbers Carried: D6528, 33111
- Withdrawn: 1991
- Present Location: The Swanage Railway, Dorset
- Owned By: The Class 33/1 Preservation Company
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No doubt a popular choice amongst our Southern Region fans and a fitting addition in keeping with the local area, the Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ have been a mainstay of diesel traction in the South and beyond over the last 60 years. A healthy number have survived and are still active on both preserved lines and the national network. In total, 29 of the class have survived into preservation – 17 of the 33/0 variant, 8 of the 33/1 variant and 4 of the 33/2 variant.
98 of the class were built by the Birmingham Wagon & Carriage Company between 1960 and 1962. Numbered as D6528 and the 28th member of the class to be built in 1960, our visiting Class 33 was the last example of 19 locomotives to be converted into a 33/1 variant of the class (especially modified to be compatible for ‘Push Pull’ operation bought about with the Bournemouth Electrification scheme between 1966-67). Renumbered as 33111 in 1974 under TOPs, the locomotive would remain with BR until its withdrawal from service in 1991.
The Class 33/1 Preservation Company purchased 33111 in 1992 and then followed spells at Eastleigh, St Leonards before transferring to Barrow Hill roundhouse, where in 2004, 33111 moved and operated for the first time in preservation. In 2008, 33111 moved to The Swanage Railway in Dorset, the current home for this Class 33 where it can be seen regularly on passenger services and engineering trains.
