Home › Freight › Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC)
Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC)
1locomotive classes in service
2liveries recorded
0ports, terminals and yards it serves
Facts
- Legal name
- Harry Needle Railroad Company Ltd
- Owner
- Swietelsky (Austria), bought January 2025 (as at October 2026)
- Founded
- 1998
- Headquarters
- Barrow Hill Engine Shed, Derbyshire
- Traffic
- locomotive spot hire and shunting hire, maintenance and overhaul, industrial supply (Class 20s at Hope Cement Works)
- Depots
- Barrow Hill, Worksop (bought from DB Cargo UK in 2019)
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Locomotives
| Class | Number | Note | As at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 20 | – | Supplied to Hope Cement Works (20121, 20166, 20311, 20314; 20168, 20906 on long-term hire, 20309 short-term hire). Count not stated. | October 2026 |
| Class 37 | 5 | Wikipedia 2024 summary lists about 5. | October 2026 |
| Class 73 | – | 73951 and 73952 (ex-Network Rail 73/9) bought Oct 2023, 73101 and related stock. | October 2026 |
Counts come from sources of different dates and are indicative. No drawings yet: the classes and their dimensions.
Liveries 2
- HNRC orange former, still running on Class 37, Class 20
Orange main-line livery adopted about 1999. Logo: yes, left off. - HNRC yellow, white and black current on Class 37, Class 20, Class 08
Yellow, white and black scheme introduced 2002. Logo: yes, left off.
Described in words: no operator publishes colour codes, so none is given. The logo is left off every drawing (the site is independent of every operator).
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 11 sources from Wikipedia, GEC Traction, Wikimedia Commons and 3 more
- Harry Needle Railroad Company Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25company facts
- British Rail Class 20 Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25Class 20 hire
- British Rail Class 73 Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-2573951/952
- Locomotive Services Limited Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25LSL owns four (heritage)
- 1000 hp Diesel Electric Locomotives for British Rail (GEC Traction brochure; page 5 reprints 'Diesel Locomotives for British Railways', Diesel Railway Traction, August 1957, with the side elevation) GEC Traction (scan at steane.com)the frame, outline, bogie centres, wheelbase, wheels, buffers, hood doors, grilles and bogie (side elevation, printed dimensions)
- HNRail 20311.jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commonsthe side drawn, the cab side, the 20/3's louvres and boxes, the livery (camera fit)
- British Rail Class 37 Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25infobox, 2024 fleet summary
- Europhoenix Rail Ltd to continue after buy-out by aggregates firm RAIL magazine, 2026-07-3111 Europhoenix
- Direct Rail Services announces retirement of Class 37 locomotives Direct Rail Services, 2024-01-22DRS retirement
- Colas Rail Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25Colas 8
- GB Railfreight - Locomotives page GB Railfreight, undated (read 2026-10-25)77 t, 90 mph (145 km/h), 9 + 11
unverified
- Fleet counts by class are not given on the HNRC Wikipedia page; the 2026 fleet is to be confirmed.
- Any Swietelsky livery changes are to be confirmed.
- Whether HNRC trains haul freight beyond industrial site work is to be confirmed.
Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)