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kanyiko — End of the line
Published: 2015-11-03 11:29:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 439; Favourites: 17; Downloads: 6
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Mechelen Central Workplace (Mechelen, Belgium), November 2nd 2015Under the light of a bleak autumn sun, locomotive 2121 of the Belgian Railways is but a ghost of its former self. Taken into service on May 8th 1985, locomotive 2121 was one of 23 (of 60) Series 21 electric locomotives withdrawn from service during 2014. While nominally still "in storage" rather than "withdrawn", it appears that subsequent visits of the Spares Fairy mean that 2121 has run its last miles...
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Comments: 28
Thank you!
The picture came out better than I thought at first. I really feared that the odd lighting might have ruined the shot!
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I struck lucky with the lighting, I guess.
But it is heart-breaking to see her in such a condition. But at least she still has a roof left - some of her colleagues at Salzinnes have had their roof dismantled so their generators could be taken out, and have been left out in the open in that condition. D:
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Oh dear. That reminds me of the 'Westerns' being scrapped at Swindon in the 1970s......
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Pretty much, I guess. I'm not sure she'll ever leave the depot again.
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Update on 2121: she did leave the depot after all.
Only days after I took this picture, 2121 made the journey from Mechelen to the Monceau freight yard near Charleroi. There she stood for a couple of weeks, until mid-December 2015, when she was towed to the De Keyser scrap yard in Courcelles, along Line 124 (Brussels - Nivelles - Charleroi-Sud). It appears she has since been scrapped.
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Sad, sad, sad but she is recorded for posterity in your picture.
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Thank you!
I have an earlier picture of her, hauling a train; I wonder if I have better pictures of her, though.
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Will be interested to see any others of her that you have Kanyiko.
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I found this mediocre one on a folder I'd forgotten about
If only it hadn't been for that glass glare... >.<
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Perhaps you can reduce the glare with Photoshop - I don't know.
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She's gone now, the first of the Series 21 to be scrapped after just 30 years of service.
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At least she's been stripped to provide for others!
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Indeed so. But it looks like there are many others which will follow her. Of those that were withdrawn from service, 2101, 2107, 2110, 2111, 2113, 2127 and 2130 were stricken. Interestingly, though, 2121 was not among those stricken, but officially it was "stored" right up to its removal towards Keyser.
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Thank you for all the info my friend!
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You're welcome!
By the way, it also looks that the curtain has fallen for 1305. During her recovery, saws and blowtorches were used to cut her free from her bogies, not exactly actions that indicate a willingness to recover her for repairs. The expectation is that she will either be taken to Salzinnes for spares recovery; or otherwise that she will be taken directly to Aubange where she will be stripped for spares and scrapped.
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Thank you! Yes maybe they just needed the line opn asap!
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They did. Although it might still be a while before the line is completely reopened, the damage to the rails and catenary was considerable.
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Its surprising how quickly lines can reopen as long as no damage to structures like bridges.
What was the loco number please ?
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