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By 2002 it had been feared for some time amongst Class 50 enthusiasts that the Operation Collingwood project was on the point of failure and that all their locomotives were likely to be scrapped. Whilst several of the OpCo fleet were heavily stripped examples that had been in the Laira scrapline for years, and had then spent a substantial amount of time at C.F. Booths. 50029 Renown and 50030 Repulse had not seen the inside of any scrapyard and were in a much better state, being virtually complete at the time of their departure from Laira. They were thought by many to be too good to be scrapped!
The unrelated scrapping of 50043 Eagle at Blaenavon in 2002 sparked discussion amongst three enthusiasts on an internet forum and RRRG was born in April 2002.
In little over 3 months, we raised enough money to purchase both locos and move them to the spacious and accommodating yards at Rowsley South on Peak Rail. In the intervening time we've made considerable progress in our project and as one member succintly put it: "We're here, we're staying, get used to it!"
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