Scotland's secret nuclear Rustons near the end of the line

Ben Jones discovers two of Britain’s least-known locomotives, built in the 1950s for a pioneering nuclear power station and now quarantined awaiting decontamination and disposal.

In this article:

• Ruston & Hornsby made small, versatile locomotives, including ones for nuclear power stations.
• Two special locomotives, used for radioactive materials at Chapelcross, await decontamination and disposal.
• These locomotives, still in security due to potential contamination, are part of a long-term decommissioning process.

Lincolnshire engineering company Ruston & Hornsby was one of the early pioneers of diesel-powered vehicles for agricultural, military and railway applications.

It was founded in September 1918 as an amalgamation of two long-established Lincolnshire companies - Ruston, Proctor of Lincoln and Grantham’s Richard Hornsby & Sons. Both had played a pioneering role in the development of internal combustion engines for industrial and agricultural use.

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