The Class 08 350hp diesel electric shunter was the standard BR general-purpose shunting locomotive with 996 examples built between 1952 and 1962. They could be found shunting large marshalling yards and smaller goods depots. With the decline in the handling of individual goods wagons and the need to assemble trains, by 2000 there were just 100 left in service, with large numbers either scrapped, exported or sold into industrial use.
Many of these useful locomotives found their way into the fleets of freight operating companies and 08512 is depicted as a typical EWS fleet member in the company’s eye-catching red and gold colour scheme.