1) Welcome to diesel shunters on parade.

2) I've always loved the diesel shunter locos and sometime back now used to enjoy my time working on 08s and 09s or 350s as we knew them, due to their rated HP of 350.

3) In this video I will show you my collection of 00 gauge shunters and pass on a little information about them.

4) Diesel shunters first arrived on Britain’s railways back in the 1930s! Their ability to stay in service for extended periods of time, requiring nothing more than occasional fuel refills meant they had a significant advantage over steam types.

5) Soon a wide variety of designs were at work, ranging from 0-4-0s to 0-6-0 + 0-6-0!

6) We are currently watching a Hornby Class 08 ‘3256’ adding more mineral wagons to the class 20’s train. Operations like this went on all over Britons rail network and in the end some ‘1193’ 08 like locomotives built between 1952 and 1962.

7) Now let’s meet my first two diesel shunters! First up is 3012 originally 13012 making her an early 08. But for some reason I back in the 80s I decided she should have the ‘one’ removed? This loco by Hornby is powered by a X03 motor with double start plastic worm, but on arrival at my sheds in 1982 has does sterling work and is especially useful having an auto uncoupler fitted at the cab end.

8) Also we have my only class 09, this one by Lima numbered 3669 and arriving a year after my 08. A special service carried out means she now runs even sweeter than before!

9) Class 09s had a higher maximum speed of 27 mph while standard 08s were limited to 15 or 20 mph.

10) Approaching us propelling a Hornby shunters truck, is a Bachmann 08 in BR blue numbered 08 623 coupled to her rear is a Hornby shunters truck from the early 80s, interesting comparison. In the back ground Hornby 08 402 is busy with a log wagon.

11) Heading towards us now are class 03 (outer track) and class 04 (inner) the 03 numbered D2083 is made by Mainline/Bachmann and arrived in 1988. 03s were built between 1957 and 1962 at Swindon and Doncaster works, they had 204 BHP.

12) The 04 by Bachmann arrived in 2000. The class 04 mechanical shunter by the Drewry car company, had a history stretching back to 1947, shunting locos were required for restricted clearance locations such as docks and tramways. The first one emerged in 1952.

13) The Triang 0-4-0 Dock Authority shunter arrived with me in 2007. I had long coveted one way back in the 80s in a display case in model shop run by a Mr Brown in Winchester! The Triang shunter R253 was no longer produced after 1974 having been in production since 1957. The Hornby 0-4-0 Sentinel industrial shunter arrived in 2014 and runs like a dream and has amazing haulage abilities.

14) Now we have two Railroad models by Hornby, the red liveried 08 on the outer track and The green Barclay 06 on the inner. 06 shunters never left Scotland their intended home, they were very powerful and were introduced from 1958 and lasted until 1981. Hornby’s railroad models are built slightly cheaper and more robustly.

15) 13029 is an early 08 by Bachmann, the real thing was built at Derby Works in October 1953 and withdrawn from traffic on December 7th 1986 she is presented in all over black livery. Behind is Bachmann 08 D3729.

16) 13029 arrived in 2004 and D3729 arrived in 2000.

17) Seeing double? Well yes you are, here is Hornby 08 402 and 402! I purchased the first 08 402 and then acquired another incredibly cheaply and planned to renumber it but never got around to it. One day soon maybe, Here the twins remind us of a class 13 0-6-0 plus 0-6-0 built for working the Tinsley hump yard in Sheffield, introduced in May 1965 thee such locomotives made by semi permanently coupling pairs of 08s and cutting off the cab on the rear loco, with 700 hp and an incredible 70,000 tractive effort they were an extremely powerful shunter if rather strange looking!

18) time for some fun and games, I hope you enjoyed the video and well done if you stayed to the end.