Class 14 industrial shunter D9531 has been resident on the East Lancashire Railway since 1987 but was withdrawn for major overhaul in 1997 so many may have forgotten about it or seen it run.

D9531 entered BR service allocated new to Cardiff Canton in February 1965, transferred to Landore in May 1965, Bristol Bath Road in December 1965 and back to Canton in December 1966 before being withdrawn in December 1967 as part of the first batch of D9500's to go. The loco was stored, along with many classmates, at the old Worcester steam sheds (85A) from December 1967 to July 1968. D9531 had been sold for scrap to Cashmores in Newport, but never actually made it there and spent a year or so with Arnott Young at Rawmarsh with a number of other Class 14 locos.

The loco was then sold to the National Coal Board (NCB) in December 1968 spending it's NCB years at the Ashington site in Northumberland as their No31. When the NCB had finished with it, it was sold for scrap again to Booth Roe metals in Rotherham. Luckily a team from the East Lancs bought it off the scrapman. The loco never actually made it to Booth Roe making it one only a few locos to have been sold for scrap twice and survive!

D9531 arrived at Bury in 1987 and a intermediate overhaul was carried out including tyre turning, coolant system repairs and refitting of vacuum braking system (removed during NCB days). It then entered service on the ELR and was used extensively, quite often 6 out of 7 days a week. In 1997 it was decided to withdraw the loco from service for a major overhaul - after ten years on the ELR the loco, now 32 years old, was getting tired. The work being undertaken at Bury should see the loco into its 40's fit and well for another 40!!

Many thanks to Paul Garvey, Andrew Lait and Phil Bullock for correcting and adding to the information above and to the www.miac.org.uk website. If you have any information to add or Photo's of D9531 (particularly pre-ELR) please get in touch!

A small selection of photos from D9531's past can be found in the gallery section.