7th NATIONAL DMU CONVENTION
November 8th - 10th 2002 Swanage Railway. A report by Tony Fox.

Introduction

The Railcar Association’s Seventh National DMU Convention, organised by Pete Catt, was held at the Swanage Railway during 8-10 November 2002.  The usual number of about fifty delegates attended, representing most UK diesel railcar preservation groups and operating railways.  The event was very successful and our thanks go to Pete, his wife Andrea and the rest of the Swanage team for an extremely well run event. 

Driving Experience (Friday/Saturday 8/9 November)

The driver experience sessions were as usual well attended.  Each driver tackled a 6 mile one-way run in the Railway’s Class 108 power trailer set (51933/56504).  On Friday the very stormy weather made accelerating and braking quite exciting.  The unit performed well and the lineside scenery was spectacular in places, with many items of railway interest dotted down the line.  The unit was used on Friday evening to transport attendees down the line to sample the delights of Corfe Castle.  Thanks to Pete for staying on the wagon and returning us safely to base afterwards.

A break at Corfe castle station on the return of the 11:40 from Swanage on the Sat. Stuart Mackay

Site Visit (Saturday 9 November) 

Prior to the formal meeting on Saturday 9th, Pete Catt hosted a yard visit to see what goes on behind the scenes at Swanage.  The line currently has four steam locomotives available for operation (34072, 35027, 80078 and 80104), 80078 being in public service that day.  The former Goods Shed is in use for carriage refurbishment and its roomy and comfortable facilities were looked on with envy by many attendees!  And is the carriage washer unique?  The new Swanage signal box is very impressive.  Half as big again as the original, it will be commissioned in time for the 2003 season.  The Swanage site is extremely compact, so use is made of every scrap of space.  The general impression was of a well organised set-up, reflecting the line’s role as a public service provider as much as a tourist attraction.

After the site visit a group picture was taken. Chris Bull

Formal meeting (Saturday 9 November)

The formal meeting was held in the Mowlem Centre on Swanage sea-front.  Facilities were excellent and will be a hard act to follow.  Pete Catt opened the meeting with a welcome to attendees, then handed over to Tony Fox for a brief review of events in railcar preservation since the 2001 Convention at the Mid-Norfolk Railway. 

Review of 2001-2

Class 101 units are still operating on First North Western services in the Manchester area, although the fleet has now shrunk from thirteen to six operating units.  All six have undergone C4L exams at Springburn during 2002 and have been approved for service to end-2003.  So, any Class 101 vehicles preserved before then will probably come from store at MoD Shoeburyness.  Good news is that Angel Trains have now established a disposal procedure for these vehicles (of which more below).

A few highlights from around the preservation movement - Ian McDonald’s 55003 has moved from the Mid-Hants Railway to Ashford for main-line service with Balfour Beatty, North Norfolk now have their second W & M German-built railbus in service, Weardale and Wensleydale Railways have been granted TWOs and will operate heritage(-ish) DMUs in 2003/4 (Class 141 and Class 107 resp.), the Park Royal saga seems closer to a happy ending with the possible movement of the power car to join its partner at Bodfari on the Denbigh and Mold Railway, Churnet Valley’s Class 104 power-twin is out-shopped fully painted and almost ready for service, and the Severn Valley are lucky owners of the first ‘ringer’ in railcar preservation (51941 is also numbered 51921 here and there!).  Surprise news just breaking is that Chiltern are refurbishing 55020 for passenger service on the Aylesbury - Princes Risborough shuttle.

Sadly the movement lost one of its most active and well-liked members when Matthew Smith died in January 2002.

Asbestos issues and Disposal of vehicles from MoD Shoeburyness (Bruce Knights, Serco Operations)

Bruce Knights of Serco Operations dealt with two topics of great significance to TRA members - the implications of asbestos decontamination for railcar preservationists, and the newly established sales process for Angel’s Class 101 and 117 vehicles stored at MoD Shoeburyness.

British Railways used asbestos in rail vehicle construction in the 1950s and 60s for fire, environmental and sound insulation.  Subsequent changes to Health & Safety Regulations essentially banned the use of asbestos in such applications.  As a result BR embarked on a withdrawal and decontamination programme to eliminate (or at least make safe) asbestos in its operational fleet.  Unfortunately, we now know that asbestos stripping was not always carried out to a consistently high degree of completeness, and that related documentation is not wholly accurate.  For example, the words ‘clear’ and ‘stripped’ do not necessarily mean that ALL asbestos has been removed.  Accordingly, ROSCOs have been very wary of their liability risk when selling rail vehicles which may subsequently be found to contain residual asbestos. 

Classes 101, 117 and 121 are all affected by this problem.  Recent inspections and dismantling have confirmed that blue asbestos was used to insulate body structures and panels in Class 101.  White asbestos exists in Class 117 and 121 floor coverings (although not in the guard’s brake area) and in pipe and ducting insulation in all vehicle types.  Less well known is the presence of white asbestos in the insulating rope in electrical cabinet lids, and in some bakelite circuit boards.  Although Class 101 vehicles were nominally stripped of blue asbestos by BR, residual traces should be assumed in all cases.  BR did not strip white asbestos from affected vehicles, probably because until comparatively recently it was regarded as less dangerous than blue asbestos. 

Given these facts, all railcar types currently in preservation are likely to have asbestos contamination to some degree.  Owners have a duty of care, when vehicles are rebuilt or repaired, which requires them to call in specialist contractors should blue or white asbestos be exposed or disturbed.  This need not necessarily be an expensive exercise, however, because contractors are usually highly skilled in masking affected areas and carrying out removal efficiently.  Serco can provide such services, incidentally.  It was noted that even the relatively common occurrence of re-screwing seat frames to the floor may well disturb white asbestos, necessitating the use of a wetting agent and wearing of a mask as a precaution.  HSE are showing an interest in related working practices having become involved recently when conversion work on main-line Class 121 vehicles exposed white asbestos.

Bruce will provide information on asbestos contamination and handling procedures for publication on TRA’s website. 

The presence of asbestos in withdrawn vehicles has been a major issue for Angel Trains.  Preparation of a disposal process for first generation railcars has as a result taken a long time.  Angel now plan to adopt HSE’s Exemption Certificate route which provides derogation from various Asbestos (Prohibition) Regulations.  In summary, when Class 101 and 117 vehicles are sold for operation on preservation railways then an HSE Exemption Certificate and asbestos survey report will be issued.  A full decontamination strip will NOT be required.  Purchasers will assume responsibility for dealing with any residual asbestos in a vehicle.  To accord with this approach, sales of Class 101 vehicles will generally only be to bona fide preservation groups or railways.  However, sales of Class 117 vehicles to appropriate individuals may be considered.

It is likely that app. ten operational power-twin sets can be made up from the 50-60 Class 101 and 117 vehicles stored at Shoeburyness.  These can be augmented to three car sets if required, using Class 117 centre trailers and the Class 101 trailers ex-Blackpool CS.  If demand exists, additional sets in power-trailer form might also be released by utilising the Class 101 DTS vehicles at Shoeburyness. 

Potential purchasers must pre-register with Serco at an annual fee of £25.  Batches of vehicles for sale will be notified to registered purchasers at approximately monthly intervals.  Serco will then release vehicle condition reports and photographs to purchasers who express interest, and indicate a guide price for each vehicle.  Following on-site inspections, sales will proceed by sealed bid. 

Serco have stripped serviceable components from those vehicles at Shoeburyness which have little chance of operational survival.  These spares will be sold off via the www.rail-services.net web site.  Bruce warned that specific strips to meet ‘shopping lists’ are probably not feasible, so sales will generally be of pre-stripped items only.  There will however be opportunities during on-site inspection or collection visits to discuss specific component requirements. 

In answer to queries, Bruce stated that those considering purchase of whole vehicles for stripping must take legal and financial responsibility for safe dismantling and subsequent scrapping, possibly an expensive process.  He also promised to investigate ways of selling good bogies separately from otherwise un-saleable vehicles.

New generation heaters for railcars (Richard Horne and Paul Christopher, Ebersp¬cker)

Richard Horne (Sales Manager), supported by Paul Christopher (Service Manager), gave a presentation on the Ebersp¬cker’s replacement for the Smiths heaters used on first generation railcars.  Ebersp¬cker is now the fourth largest manufacturer world-wide of vehicle exhaust systems.  The company has diversified significantly and also supplies heating systems for main-line fleets such as Class 158, 165, 166, 175 and 180.  It has proved the principle of replacing Smiths heaters on a Class 121 vehicle.

The 8 kW replacement heater is smaller than the Smiths original, but by use of additional ducting can readily be mounted in the same position.  Existing fuel feed and hot-air ducting can therefore be re-used and after some discussion it was generally agreed that the new heaters could probably be driven by existing train wiring and controls.  This is a key issue, as all heaters must be controllable by the train guard from a single location.

The heaters work on much the same principle as the Smiths device, with a spinning mechanism delivering fuel to a combustion chamber, over which passes saloon heating air.  Additional features such as saloon thermostats, timers, remote control (e.g. from a mobile phone!) and a half-heat function give food for thought.  Fuel consumption, at 1 litre per hour on full output, is much lower than the Smiths devices.  An issue still to be addressed is whether different installation requirements exist for the various first generation railcar classes.

Guide price for a base unit is £1.5k - £1.8k, plus installation and additional ducting and control work.  It was stressed that Ebersp¬cker’s role is generally that of OEM supplier; they rely on dealerships and agents to tackle any specific installation requirements encountered in the field.

Operating railcars (Paul McDonald, Swanage Railway  Operations Manager)

Paul described how first generation railcars are a vital part of the Swanage Railway’s operation.  The railway is now the third busiest preserved line in the UK, and its main role is that of people mover.  The Park and Ride facility based on Norden provides an essential service to the area during the busy summer months.

A Class 108 set was tried initially in 1997 on an experimental basis for evening trains to carry holiday makers to and from Swanage.  Take-up was so good that a second unit was soon hired in from Mike Hancocks.  Annual DMU revenue has steadily grown from £4k in 1997 to over £10k in 2002. 

The fifteen registered railcar drivers on the Railway all have other roles as well.  Railcar operation is therefore integrated with the Railway as a whole rather than being handled by a stand-alone group.

The proposed through services to Wareham will probably be handled by the line’s Class 33 locos with Mk II stock, operated independently by a newly-formed subsidiary company.  So, the current operation of an integrated steam and DMU service based on Park and Ride at Norden will continue to operate, albeit on a much busier railway!

Update from Stuart Mackay

Stuart reported on a very hectic year.  There’s no shortage of work out there it would appear. 

Much work has been centred on the Midland Railway Centre (e.g. the Wickham project, Derby Lightweight, Class 121 bodywork and repaint for Balfour Beatty, Class 114 repaint).  Other activities stretched from Keith & Dufftown to Swindon & Cricklade, and from Dean Forest to East Anglia. 

Stuart’s own pride and joy, the Class 126 set, has suffered delays in rebuilding caused by unexpected asbestos contamination and for other reasons.  Deadline for completion is December 2003 so drastic acceleration is called for.

Other items

Trevor Daw brought examples of wire brush and circular ‘sanding’ devices that the the Severn Valley Railway team hope to use to clean up aluminium roofs on their Class 108 vehicles, giving a huge labour saving over conventional preservation methods. Galvanised roofs could also be tackled but at the expense of losing their protective coating.

Frank Nicholas confirmed the 2003 Convention dates as 18-20 July, at the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire.

Trevor Daw offered in principle to host the 2004 Convention at the Severn Valley Railway, probably in September or October.

To view details of the 2001 gala click here.