For Sale
3-car 115, 2-car 117, Class 47. All at Barry depot. Contact Carl at 01656 740262 or Carl.Hookings@ntlworld.com for details.

Moquette
Richard Johnston at the Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway is putting together orders with Camira fabrics (formerly Holdsworths) for two separate types of moquette: the BR blue / green check and the BR Trojan (grey with multicoloured flecks). Rolls are approx 25 metres long and will cost £462.50 plus VAT each. They shall require a 50% deposit upon order and the balance upon collection. If anyone would like to join in this order please contact Richard at richardjohnson@waitrose.com or on 0121 711 1027. It's planned to place the orders by mid-June, so anyone interested should contact him by 13th June at the latest. They need to make up orders of at least 16 rolls of each to go forward.

Blue Pullman Supplement
A supplement to the excellent Kevin Robertson book on the Blue Pullman is to be released on 1st September. Containing a further 100 pages on the sadly missed vehicles featuring previously unavailable material and unseen photographs, it can be pre-ordered here from Amazon for £9.77 (rrp £13.95).

Indietracks Festival
There'll be DMU shuttles in action at the Midland Railway Butterley for this event:

Buckingham Railway Centre - Aylesbury shuttle
A special DMU shuttle will run on Mon 31 Aug. The first train is 10.00 and then hourly from Aylesbury until 17.00. The return is 10.30 and on the half hour until 17.30. Cost, including the Centre entrance, is £14 adults and seniors and children £11. The Vintage Carriage set is out on these days and a Collector’s Fair with about 60 stands due.

Annual DMU Convention
This year's event will take place at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The dates have been announced as:
Fri October 2nd  - Driver experience day.
Sat October 3rd - Extensive DMU running plus afternoon Meeting.
Sun October 4th - DMU running.
There will also be a 50th Birthday Bash for 5 of the units that are 50 this time round on the 10th May. £10 for the day with a special timetable and a cake etc. More details on the website www.e-v-r.com

Rhodesian Wickhams
I don't feature a lot of foreign railcars here but this item was interesting http://www.sandstone-estates.com/interim/a_sad_end/The_Wickham_Railcars_of_Rhodesia_Railways.html. You can see a lot of similarities in the body between this Wickham and the twin sets they built for British Railways. If only someone could produce a picture of some abandoned Swindon units in Liberia! Thanks to Geoff Ingram for the link.

Class 108 DTC
The Vale Of Glamorgan Railway Company has a Class 108 DTC for sale/hire. It's in working order other than needing a set of cells and a corridor connection that needs repairing. Expressions of interest/offers to Austin Jeffery - e mail valeofglamrail@hotmail.com or fax 01446749018

Epping Ongar Railway
The line is very keen to hear from any people interesting in helping maintain the 117 (and possibly other units to come), as well as the myriad of jobs on their C&W stock, both outside and inside. The team are about to undertake a DMU repaint, but could also do with a few current or former fitters to help show them the tricks of the trade. They are within easy reach of the M11, M25 and A12, and the 6.5 miles line runs through undulating countryside, and have both a tin shed with loco pit and covered enclosed shed (soon to be re-connected), so will hopefully be able to progress despite the weather. Contact Simon Hanney at simonhanney@hotmail.com.

“Thunderbird 1” finally on the move
Affectionately known as “Thunderbird 1” from its use as a route learning vehicle at Longsight depot in Manchester, class 122 DMU W55001 moved under its own power on 26th September 2008 on the East Lancashire Railway. The unit had transferred from the Northampton and Lamport Railway on 29th April 2008, after being sold by Ian McDonald to a consortium at the ELR. Considerable works have been undertaken on the unit, with the fitting of 2 engines, gear boxes, final drives, and exhausts by Graham Thornton and Dave Bellamy. Externally the unit has also had some attention with filler being rubbed down ready for repainting before the winter sets in.

The unit was withdrawn from passenger use in July 1969. It was used on the 26th by the Guards Department of the E.L.R. for a route refresher course, and included a full length of the line trip with visits to the more remote areas not normally traversed by passengers. These included a visit to the Steam Shed yards, and over Green Lane to interface with network rail. It is hoped to have the unit up and running for passenger services after further attention to internal details. The Picture shows W55001 and NRM’s 101 unit waiting at Ramsbottom Station, for the route northwards on 26th September 2008. Stuart McDonald

Blue Lenses
Ritchie Marcus (Battlefield) has had a batch of the 1 inch diameter blue glass lenses for the cab engine and air/axle light fittings made from  glass from the original patterns, and is offering these for sale. They cost £5 each, inclusive of VAT and postage. Contact him at rjmarcus@doctors.org.uk

Video Clips
As video clips are nearly as common on the internet nowadays on the likes of You Tube, then perhaps DMU clips should also be listed here? If anyone wants to send in links, send them to here (links only, no clips/files!).
This one - Vehicles stored at Thornton Junction including 101s, 120s and the Mexican Bean unit.
This one - Class 101 51188 and 51505 2-car unit + bubble car 55006 arrive into Wirksworth simultaneously.
This one - Class 101 51188 and 51505 2-car unit + Class 117 51360 and Class 108 56224 leave Wirksworth together.
This one - Fire drill onboard M55006.

101 Cab
A cab cut off from a 101 is available for sale, needs to be moved asap. Contact Carl on 01656 740262 or Carl.Hookings@ntlworld.com for details.

Metalastic Bushes
These are used in the mounts of most Leyland 680 / AEC engines. Two fit on the engine, and two on the vehicle. A new batch of these have just been made, and available in sets of four at a cost of £115 (including VAT and P&P). There are just eight sets available, if you are interested please contact  stuartsellar @ blueyonder.co.uk.

Yahoo Groups
For those that are not aware of the Yahoo DMU groups available, the main ones are:
101DMU - "This group is for anyone interested in Class 101s (Metro-Cammell built diesel railcars). Anything relevant to these trains is welcome. Other types of first generation DMU are also acceptable. Report all your sightings, and share news, information, photos and opinions." 
1st-gen - "1st-gen is a forum for owners and operators of 1st-generation DMUs (and anyone else interested). Particular topics are requests for information / technical help and parts for sale / wanted."
mueg - "MUEG is an E-mail group for people interested in Multiple units of all types, ie EMU DMU DEMU. We cover both old and modern, and also heritage railways which these are used on."
Blue Pullmans - "A group for anyone interested in the erstwhile British Rail Blue Pullman sets which operated between London and Manchester / Birmingham / South Wales."
Thumpergroup - "News, views and latest information on ex-BR Class 201, 205, 207 and 210 DEMU's, also Northern Ireland '80' and 'castle' class DEMU's - all carrying English Electric 4SRKT engines."
Wickham Of Ware - discussing all things Wickham – Railcars, Railbuses, DMUs, Trolleys, Trailers etc.