Fleet No.56, Hunslet 9082 of 1984 is not a locomotive which has troubled these pages much before. It worked at a Royal Ordnance Factory in Bishopton, Scotland, on the 2'6" gauge railway there. The team at Apedale have recently completed the regauging process - which is not exactly a five minute job. So, it was taken for an exploratory trundle down the main line. I have to say its Perkins engine does sound quite good, and not many bits seemed to fall off. The people at Bishopton determined the loco to be Cat C. This actually means Category C, and refers to the flameproofing installation on the loco. Spark-emitting diesel locos and ordnance factories do not make happy friends - so buildings and locos were categorised. If your building is Cat C and your loco is Cat C - a long and happy life (or something close, this being Scotland). If your building was a higher category than your loco - goodbye Bishopton, hello a nice new boating lake in Renfrewshire. Clearly someone at Bishopton had a sense of humour, and decided that Cat means Tiddles. So, we welcome Tiddles the Hunslet to the operational fleet. If your company makes catfood and wants to sponsor Tiddles, get in touch here.
