6th NATIONAL DMU CONVENTION
September 14th - 16th 2001 Mid-Norfolk Railway     Words Tony Fox, pictures Paul Moxon.

This event, organised by Mike Evans and Brian Smith of Railcar Enterprises, was attended by the usual number of about fifty delegates, representing most diesel railcar preservation groups and operating railways in Great Britain. The event was very successful and our thanks go to Mike and Brian for a good job well done.

Driving Experience (Friday 14 September)

The driver experience sessions on Mike’s Class 122 bubble car 55006 on Friday 14th were very well supported by groups from all over the country. All eleven miles were available, thanks to Mike organising crossing keepers right down the line. Some drivers enjoyed the novelty of seeing a mile or more of track stretching out in front of them - for others it was the first chance they’d had to pilot a bubble car. 55006 performed faultlessly, as did the Class 108 pair 51572/56224 later on the Saturday and Sunday services. The bubble’s green paintwork showed signs of expert attention from Stuart Mackay.

Recreating the 1960's ? - Only the Hi-intensity headlight and 'Stop Look Listen' sign make you think this is might be a modern photo.

Formal meeting (Saturday 15 September)

The finishing touches as the roving DMU restorer paints the exhaust stacks of M55006, early on the Saturday.

Prior to the formal meeting on Saturday 15th, Brian Smith hosted a yard visit to see the other railcars at Dereham, plus a 141 set and some emu stock, the latter looking forlorn and far from home.

A rare survivor is class 111 Trailer Buffet
Second 59575.

"Bit of work on the interior, and we'll
soon be serving teas from the buffet" (No, Brian didn't say that & seems fully aware of the task ahead with the Buffet car)

The next generation of DMU preservation, class 141 141108 at Dereham.

Catering for the EMU enthusiast was 4-EPB no. 5176, and a Motor Luggage Van.

Mike Evans opened the meeting, held in the Kings Head Hotel, with some background on the Mid-Norfolk Railway and went on to describe Railcar Enterprises and railcar activity on the Mid-Norfolk. Ultimately Mike plans to split the 108 set and run 117/108 (Blue) and 119/108 (NSE) hybrids. 59575 will complete a three-car set as and when the jigsaw puzzle is finished!

Roger Keys, Fleet Engineer at Chiltern Railways’ Aylesbury depot, next addressed the meeting, commencing with a brief history of the Great Central’s building of the last main-line into London (to Marylebone). Roger showed many interesting pictures of motive power on the line over the years, culminating in Class 115 railcars and finally the current Class 165 and 168 units. The advent of Chris Green’s Network South East breathed new life into a declining Marylebone service and Chiltern Railways has subsequently developed into one of the most successful TOC franchises, commencing with an MBO in 1995.

Chiltern’s key business objective was initially to increase passenger volumes on existing service routes, and there are now plans to extend further into the West Midlands following the success of the Snow Hill service. Improvements in journey times (18 miles of single line have been re-doubled) and customer service (new trains, refurbished stations, bus links) have been achieved.

Adhesion during the autumn leaf fall is a big issue for Chiltern and a strategic decision has been taken to operate an in-house fleet of Sandite vehicles. Three vehicles are required to cover two 7-day diagrams, giving annual vehicle mileages of about 15,000. Building on the existing fleet of first generation ‘bubble-car’ units is preferred to investment in new MPVs, for the next five years at least. The need to fit data recorders and introduction of tighter emission controls may then finally see off the bubbles.

A Sandite vehicle contains tanks and spray equipment at each end, plus a generator module mounted mid-ships. Most seating and some internal bulkheads have been removed. Some doors are sealed and several units have ramped seating at both ends for route-learning duties. So a degree of re-building will be necessary to return such vehicles to passenger service in preservation.

Vehicles in which Chiltern Railways have an ‘interest’ are:

Active at Aylesbury: 960 010/5/21 (ex-55024, 55019, 55021)

In store at Aylesbury: 960 002 (ex- 55020)

In store at Fragonset Derby for potential future use: 960 013/4 (ex-55030, 55022)

Cannibalised unit at Aylesbury: 117306

Leased to Balfour Beatty, Ashford, for video surveys: 960 012 (ex-55028)

Recently Chiltern helped Railtrack move ex-Silverlink 55027/31 from MoD Shoeburyness to LNWR Crewe, for preparation for Severn Tunnel emergency train duties. For a short while there were seven Class 121 and 122 vehicles on Aylesbury Depot. A six-vehicle train subsequently headed northwards, with eleven engines out of twelve working! For the record, 960 010 and 960 021 topped and tailed the cavalcade, then returned to Aylesbury via Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley for roof repairs. 960 013/4 will undergo bogie overhauls then go into store at Fragonset Derby, possibly for return to Sandite duties in the future. 960 012 is Balfour Beatty’s second video service unit, joining 960 011 (55025) at Ashford.

Chiltern’s bubbles are maintained to Regional Railways’ 1994 VMI standard. This version is being updated and slimmed down by Chiltern to reflect non-passenger usage.

Tony Fox then reviewed progress made since the last Convention in negotiations on railcar disposals with Angel Trains Limited. This didn’t take very long! In summary, all Class 117 and 121 vehicles have now been sold by Angel, several of the former to preservation groups. Angel have yet to finalise arrangements for disposal of Class 101 vehicles, some (or all?) of which contain residual blue asbestos to an unknown degree. As soon as a disposal process is in place details will be announced on The Railcar Association website (and in the Monthly Bulletin). Angel own seventy Class 101 vehicles, all of which must be disposed of over the next year.

Stuart Mackay reported on his first half-year as a freelance Railcar Restorer. It’s been a very exciting time and Stuart has relished the variety of the work undertaken and the number of railways he’s worked at. He has built up a respectable reference list of work done. Contact information is available on the web-site, or phone 07974 565 243. Mike Evans commented that he was very pleased with the repaint work Stuart had undertaken on 55006.

Alfred Roberts, who owns the Class 103 DMBS vehicle at the Coventry Steam Railway, presented a short history of the Class 103 Park Royal DTC vehicle stored at a site in Dunstable. Current status is that asbestos exposed following vandalism has been stripped by contractors at the insistence of the local Environmental Health Officer. Ownership of the DTC is unknown. Tony Fox commented that site owners Rail Property Limited are treating the vehicle as abandoned and have contacted TRA stating that they are considering options for its disposal. The consensus of the meeting was that rebuilding of the DTC will require significant funding and resources, impossible to justify given that a Class 103 set is already under restoration on the West Somerset Railway. Maybe remaining components such as bogies could be recovered for use elsewhere? As regards help with the DMBS at Coventry, all groups have their own projects to fund and would be unlikely to contribute to this venture.

The open forum session covered the following topics:

  • The seventh Convention will be held on the Swanage Railway in November 2002.
  • The Dean Forest Group volunteered to host an intermediate driver experience event in April/May 2002.
  • The 2003 Convention will be based jointly at the Telford Steam and Chasewater Railways.
  • Brian Smith reported that BCF fire extinguishers will become obsolete at the end of 2002 (it is already prohibitively expensive to have them inspected or recharged). He is researching the conversion mod. for Class 150 units (which were fitted with BCF when built and now have AFFF extinguishers) to assess applicability to first generation units. Evan Green-Hughes commented that AFFF or FFFP are much better than BCF anyway for engine fires and encouraged their use. Brian added that hand-held AFFF extinguishers are already carried on all Railcar Enterprises’ vehicles as an interim step. What is Roger Keys planning for the Aylesbury bubbles? (TF will action)
  • Evan Green-Hughes suggested that the railcar preservation movement would benefit from an appropriately revised VMI (like the one produced by Chiltern for the Sandite bubbles) which could be reviewed and approved by HSE/HMRI. Maybe Chiltern’s revised version would be a starting point? (TF will action)
  • It was agreed that TRA ties, sweatshirts and possibly polo shirts are ‘a good thing’ and Brian Smith agreed to research costs and availability and report via the website and Bulletin.
  • After some discussion it was agreed that TRA should assess the setting up of its own e(mail)-group. John Joyce already moderates several e-groups and will discuss how to organise one for TRA with Stuart Mackay.

The 108 'Fish and Chip' charter at Yaxham station

Push-pull working at the visit to the Yaxham Light Railway (- a sort of 2 foot gauge HST ?)

Who said that nobody's interested in DMU's, ?
(I hope that the destination blind of  'Barking' was either tongue in cheek or an amusing coincidence !?)

Mid-Norfolk track bash (Sunday 16 September)

The line’s normal timetable was supplemented with two ‘fill-in’ turns, giving five trips. First the 122 worked itself, then two trips with the 122/108 in multiple, and the final two trips were the 108 on it’s own.

Crossing gates are a feature of the MNR - seen through the cab window of 51572.

To view details of the 2000 gala click here.