33109 is one of two 33/1's at the ELR (the other being 33117). Nicknamed 'Bagpipes' due to the additional air pipework on the front, a total of 19 class 33/1's were adapted from 33/0's to include buckeye couplers with '3rd buffer', high level air pipes and control system modifications so that they could push or pull EMU sets on the Southern Region of British Railways, providing diesel traction where no 3rd Rail electric was available, most notably on Weymouth Harbour Tramway. More details can be found in the Fleet Profile PDF.

33109 was stored at Crewe for some time following the demise of the Fragonset company but was secured by a group from the ELR. The locomotive is named 'Captain Bill Smith RNR' and a photo of the plaque explaining his story can be seen below in the gallery.

Following remedial work on arrival at the ELR, 'Captain Bill' was returned to traffic on the 2nd of February 2008 performing a loaded test run pulling D335 and 47402 from Bury to Heywood and return then, later in the day, piloting D5054 on the regular diesel diagram.

Currently running in BR Blue with white window surrounds, 33109 is operational and a useful loco to the ELR. 2013 saw visits to both the Mid Hants and GCR(N) for Gala appearances, notably running at the MHR as Push-Pull with 4-VEP, 423417.

In 2015 Captain Bill made a visit to the Nene Valley Railway for their Diesel Gala over the 11th and 12th of April along with 50015 Valiant

A more detailed fleet profile can be downloaded below:

Adobe PDF format