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Vic Berry

September 01, 2023

Vic Berry's Scrapyard was a large railway scrapyard situated in the former Great Central Railway Braunstone Gate goods yard in Leicester.

Vic Berry
IndustryRecycling
Founded1973
FounderVic Berry
Defunct1991
Headquarters
Leicester
,
England

Operations Edit

 
Vic Berry's well-known stack of Type 2 diesel locomotives, 3 October 1987.

Vic Berry established his Leicester scrapyard in 1973 on the site of what had been the former GC Braunstone Gate goods yard, just south of Leicester Central railway station.[1] Like Woodham Brothers at Barry, Vic Berry focused initially on breaking up redundant passenger coaches and goods wagons. The first locomotives did not arrive until 10 years later in April 1983 when three Class 76 electric locomotives arrived for breaking up.[2]

The yard is best known for scrapping large quantities of Class 25 and Class 27 diesel-electric locomotives. This led to the infamous 'stack' of Class 25 and 27 locomotives which reached their peak in 1987 with 30 examples stacked. The yard did not exclusively deal with these locomotives, as examples of classes 02, 03, 08, 20, 26, 31, 33, 37, 40, 45, 47, 50, 82, 83, 84 and 85 were scrapped on site, along with a large quantity of BR DMUs. Vic Berry also scrapped a London Underground train and ex-CIE 201 Class locomotives 208 and 219 in 1990.

It was also involved in the refurbishing and repainting of rolling stock, with one London Underground 1967 Stock train refurbished in 1990.[3]

Vic Berry also specialized in asbestos removal as well as scrapping withdrawn locomotives and rolling stock. This was of value to railway preservation societies, who sometimes would benefit from purchasing a locomotive from Vic Berry as it would have already been stripped of asbestos. As the scrapyard was connected to the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, the yard contained a large number of locomotives, coaches, wagons, and DMUs which were held for either purchase or scrapping.

The yard moved from scrapping locomotives to DMUs and rolling stock in December 1990 when what was believed to be the last complete locomotive in the yard, 25213, was scrapped.[1] Another 18 class 25s were broken up by Vic Berry at other sites; five were broken up off-site while the other 13 were also broken up off-site but with their cabs subsequently transported to Leicester.

Fire and closure Edit

In the early hours of Sunday 10 March 1991, a serious fire broke out in the scrapyard which took firefighters several hours to bring under control, by which time serious damage had been caused.[4][5] The cause of the fire, which led to widespread distribution of airborne asbestos across the city, has never been determined.[citation needed] As a result of the fire and after months of difficulties, the Vic Berry Company ceased trading in June 1991, the final straw being the failure to reach a deal with its landlord, British Rail, for the decontamination of 170 grounded bodies in the Western Boulevard which contained asbestos.[6] The company owed creditors a reported £4 million.[6] On 7 June, British Rail gave Vic Berry five days to begin clearing the site or it would bring in a contractor to do so.[6] Vic Berry began to trade under his own name from 11 June 1991, employing around a dozen of his former staff, and began to clear the site on 14 June.[6] The closed site was nevertheless left significantly contaminated from the disposal process.[citation needed]

Redevelopment Edit

The site was re-developed as a part of the Leicester City Challenge project in 1996 / 1997 as Bede Island.

Diesel locomotives rescued for preservation Edit

Despite being well known for scrapping various classes of diesel engines en masse, not all of the diesel locomotives, and some rolling stock as well, that entered the scrapyard were scrapped. Some of them were actually purchased for preservation owing to the asbestos removal facility. Eighteen diesel locomotives were rescued from Vic Berry scrapyard including one Class 24 locomotive, twelve Class 25 locomotives, one Class 26 locomotive, two Class 27 locomotives and one Class 40 locomotive were purchased for preservation during the late 1980s. One Class 03 shunter D2069/03069 worked at the scrapyard from 1984 until 1991 when it was sold to the Vale of Berkley Railway for preservation.[7] Interestingly, most of the preserved BR Class 40 locomotives were sent here for asbestos removal before arriving at heritage railways.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

BR Class 03 engines rescued from Vic Berry[17]
BR Class 24 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry
BR Class 25 engines rescued from Vic Berry[19]
BR Class 26 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry[21]
BR Class 27 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry[23]
BR Class 40 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry[23]

References Edit

  1. ^ a b "Vic Berry Scrapyard". Derby Sulzers.
  2. ^ "This is… Vic Berry". Rail. No. 118. 22 March 1990. pp. 24–30.
  3. ^ Intelligence Railway Gazette International June 1990 page 416
  4. ^ "Vic Berry: Fire destroys the stack". Rail. No. 144. 20 March 1991. p. 6.
  5. ^ Leigh, Chris, ed. (May 1991). "Rail report: Vic Berry". Railway World. 52 (613): 312.
  6. ^ a b c d Leigh, Chris, ed. (August 1991). "Rail report: Vic Berry closes". Railway World. 52 (616): 503.
  7. ^ "D2069 Class 03 Shunter". Vale of Berkeley Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ^ Elliott, Edward. "D212 Aureol and the BR Class 40 diesel locomotives". Aureol 1951. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Welcome to the Class 40 Appeal Owners of 40012 Aureol". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  10. ^ "The Forties 1958 – 2008. Part One". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  11. ^ "The Forties 1958-2008 Part Two". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  12. ^ "History of D212 - 212 - 40012 - 97407". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  13. ^ "History of D213 / 40013". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  14. ^ "History of D318 / 40118 / 97408". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  15. ^ "History of D335 / 40135 / 97406". Class 40 Appeal. Weebly. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Class 40 Story". TrainWeb. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  17. ^ "D2069 Class 03 Shunter". Vale of Berkeley Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  18. ^ "BR Class 24 No. D5061". North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Vic Berry's Scrapyard at Leicester". Derby Sulzers. Retrieved 22 April 2006.
  20. ^ "D5185 – Castell Dinas Bran". Great Central Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  21. ^ "26014/D5314". 6LDA Class 26. WordPress. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  22. ^ "26014/D5314". 6LDA Class 26. WordPress. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  23. ^ a b Devereux, Nigel (12 May 2017). "A Fiery End". Rail Express. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Class 27 D5401". Great Central Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vic Berry's scrapyard.
  • Google Map Location
  • railcar.co.uk - photos
  • railpics.sweetp.net - photos
  • Derby Sulzers - Vic Berry Page - photos and insight by a Derby Works employee.

52°37′44″N 1°08′42″W / 52.629°N 1.145°W / 52.629; -1.145

September 01, 2023
berry, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2013, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Vic Berry news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Vic Berry s Scrapyard was a large railway scrapyard situated in the former Great Central Railway Braunstone Gate goods yard in Leicester Vic BerryIndustryRecyclingFounded1973FounderVic BerryDefunct1991HeadquartersLeicester England Contents 1 Operations 2 Fire and closure 3 Redevelopment 4 Diesel locomotives rescued for preservation 5 References 6 External linksOperations Edit nbsp Vic Berry s well known stack of Type 2 diesel locomotives 3 October 1987 Vic Berry established his Leicester scrapyard in 1973 on the site of what had been the former GC Braunstone Gate goods yard just south of Leicester Central railway station 1 Like Woodham Brothers at Barry Vic Berry focused initially on breaking up redundant passenger coaches and goods wagons The first locomotives did not arrive until 10 years later in April 1983 when three Class 76 electric locomotives arrived for breaking up 2 The yard is best known for scrapping large quantities of Class 25 and Class 27 diesel electric locomotives This led to the infamous stack of Class 25 and 27 locomotives which reached their peak in 1987 with 30 examples stacked The yard did not exclusively deal with these locomotives as examples of classes 02 03 08 20 26 31 33 37 40 45 47 50 82 83 84 and 85 were scrapped on site along with a large quantity of BR DMUs Vic Berry also scrapped a London Underground train and ex CIE 201 Class locomotives 208 and 219 in 1990 It was also involved in the refurbishing and repainting of rolling stock with one London Underground 1967 Stock train refurbished in 1990 3 Vic Berry also specialized in asbestos removal as well as scrapping withdrawn locomotives and rolling stock This was of value to railway preservation societies who sometimes would benefit from purchasing a locomotive from Vic Berry as it would have already been stripped of asbestos As the scrapyard was connected to the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line the yard contained a large number of locomotives coaches wagons and DMUs which were held for either purchase or scrapping The yard moved from scrapping locomotives to DMUs and rolling stock in December 1990 when what was believed to be the last complete locomotive in the yard 25213 was scrapped 1 Another 18 class 25s were broken up by Vic Berry at other sites five were broken up off site while the other 13 were also broken up off site but with their cabs subsequently transported to Leicester Fire and closure EditIn the early hours of Sunday 10 March 1991 a serious fire broke out in the scrapyard which took firefighters several hours to bring under control by which time serious damage had been caused 4 5 The cause of the fire which led to widespread distribution of airborne asbestos across the city has never been determined citation needed As a result of the fire and after months of difficulties the Vic Berry Company ceased trading in June 1991 the final straw being the failure to reach a deal with its landlord British Rail for the decontamination of 170 grounded bodies in the Western Boulevard which contained asbestos 6 The company owed creditors a reported 4 million 6 On 7 June British Rail gave Vic Berry five days to begin clearing the site or it would bring in a contractor to do so 6 Vic Berry began to trade under his own name from 11 June 1991 employing around a dozen of his former staff and began to clear the site on 14 June 6 The closed site was nevertheless left significantly contaminated from the disposal process citation needed Redevelopment EditThe site was re developed as a part of the Leicester City Challenge project in 1996 1997 as Bede Island Diesel locomotives rescued for preservation EditDespite being well known for scrapping various classes of diesel engines en masse not all of the diesel locomotives and some rolling stock as well that entered the scrapyard were scrapped Some of them were actually purchased for preservation owing to the asbestos removal facility Eighteen diesel locomotives were rescued from Vic Berry scrapyard including one Class 24 locomotive twelve Class 25 locomotives one Class 26 locomotive two Class 27 locomotives and one Class 40 locomotive were purchased for preservation during the late 1980s One Class 03 shunter D2069 03069 worked at the scrapyard from 1984 until 1991 when it was sold to the Vale of Berkley Railway for preservation 7 Interestingly most of the preserved BR Class 40 locomotives were sent here for asbestos removal before arriving at heritage railways 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 BR Class 03 engines rescued from Vic Berry 17 D2069 03069 is now preserved at the Vale of Berkley Railway BR Class 24 locomotives rescued from Vic BerryD5061 24061 is now preserved at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway 18 BR Class 25 engines rescued from Vic Berry 19 D5148 25035 Castell Dinas Bran now works on the Great Central Railway 20 D5207 25057 is now at the North Norfolk Railway 19 D5209 25059 is now at the Keighley amp Worth Valley Railway 19 D5222 25072 is now at the Caledonian Railway 19 D7523 25173 John F Kennedy at the Battlefield Line Railway 19 D7541 25191 now works on the South Devon Railway D7594 25244 is now at the Kent and East Sussex Railway 19 D7615 25265 Harlech Castle now stored at Burton On Trent 19 D7628 25278 Sybilla now works at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway 19 D7659 25309 now works at Peak Rail 19 D7629 25279 is now at the East Lancashire Railway 19 D7663 25313 is now at the Wensleydale Railway 19 D7633 25904 25283 is now at the Dean Forest Railway 19 BR Class 26 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry 21 D5314 26014 now works at the Caledonian Railway 22 BR Class 27 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry 23 D5401 27056 is now at the Great Central Railway 24 D5410 27059 is under going restoration at Leicester BR Class 40 locomotives rescued from Vic Berry 23 D213 40013 Andania now works at Crewe Diesel TMD and now does mainline tours References Edit a b Vic Berry Scrapyard Derby Sulzers This is Vic Berry Rail No 118 22 March 1990 pp 24 30 Intelligence Railway Gazette International June 1990 page 416 Vic Berry Fire destroys the stack Rail No 144 20 March 1991 p 6 Leigh Chris ed May 1991 Rail report Vic Berry Railway World 52 613 312 a b c d Leigh Chris ed August 1991 Rail report Vic Berry closes Railway World 52 616 503 D2069 Class 03 Shunter Vale of Berkeley Railway Retrieved 10 November 2020 Elliott Edward D212 Aureol and the BR Class 40 diesel locomotives Aureol 1951 Retrieved 16 January 2021 Welcome to the Class 40 Appeal Owners of 40012 Aureol Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 The Forties 1958 2008 Part One Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 The Forties 1958 2008 Part Two Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 History of D212 212 40012 97407 Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 History of D213 40013 Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 History of D318 40118 97408 Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 History of D335 40135 97406 Class 40 Appeal Weebly Retrieved 16 January 2021 Class 40 Story TrainWeb Retrieved 16 January 2021 D2069 Class 03 Shunter Vale of Berkeley Railway Retrieved 10 November 2020 BR Class 24 No D5061 North Yorkshire Moors Railway Retrieved 10 November 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l Vic Berry s Scrapyard at Leicester Derby Sulzers Retrieved 22 April 2006 D5185 Castell Dinas Bran Great Central Railway Retrieved 10 November 2020 26014 D5314 6LDA Class 26 WordPress Retrieved 11 May 2011 26014 D5314 6LDA Class 26 WordPress 31 May 2011 Retrieved 12 November 2020 a b Devereux Nigel 12 May 2017 A Fiery End Rail Express Retrieved 26 October 2020 Class 27 D5401 Great Central Railway Retrieved 10 November 2020 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vic Berry s scrapyard Google Map Location railcar co uk photos railpics sweetp net photos Derby Sulzers Vic Berry Page photos and insight by a Derby Works employee 52 37 44 N 1 08 42 W 52 629 N 1 145 W 52 629 1 145 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vic Berry amp oldid 1080848504, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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