50556 Class 104 Driving Motor Composite Lavatory (Scrapped)

Last Location	East Lancashire Railway	Location History	Private Site: Meadowhall Mar 93-Feb 01
Current Status	Scrapped at East Lancashire Railway Dec 2020		Telford Steam Railway Feb 01-Nov 17
Last Livery	BR Blue (Full Yellow End)		East Lancashire Railway Nov 17-Dec 20
Partner Vehicle(s)	59228
Record Last Updated	1 January 2021
Preservation Modifications None
Preservation Information 50556 was preserved in March 1993 in a bulk buy of 12 Class 104 vehicles by private individuals Kevin Dowd and Robert Simpson. With no immediate home available, 50556 was held in open storage at Meadowhall (where it had been since January 1993), where it started to deteriorate. In 2001, the vehicle was moved from Meadowhall to the Telford Steam Railway. Over the next 4 years, minor repairs to running gear were made to keep the vehicle mobile, but no major restoration activities were undertaken due to other commitments. Between 2005-2009 the vehicle was held in storage and sheeted over to attempt to keep the rain out, however several sets of tarpaulins were stolen and continued vandalism eventually led to any further attempts to secure the vehicle to be abandoned. A survey in 2009 found the vehicle to be in extremely poor condition. In 2016 the vehicle's owners made the decision to strip 50556 for spare parts and to scrap the remains as no viable restoration plan could be formed for the now derelict vehicle. It was sheeted over that year to make it secure for transport and was moved to the East Lancashire Railway the following year, where it was stored to await scrapping. During this period, a few minor parts were removed as required for the maintenence and restoration of other Class 104 vehicles. In July 2020, the serious stripping of 50556 started in earnest, as the siding space upon which the vehicle stood was needed for other vehicles. Over two intensive weekends, inroads were made in removing the remains from the interior, and to drop all the mechanical components from the underframe, made possible with the vehicle shunted over an inspection pit for the day. In between dodging Covid-19 lockdowns restricting work progress, stripping of 50556 continued throughout the rest of the year. Relatively little of the vehicle was actually scrapped in the end, with several sections of roof and chassis members even being saved. Nevertheless, by December 2020 the body had completely been removed and a final push saw the vehicle officially scrapped the week prior to Christmas, after the final sections of unwanted chassis were cut off the tops of the bogies.After this point, 50556 ceased to exist as a vehicle having been converted to a large stock of spare parts instead for the vehicles at the East Lancashire Railway. 50556 was the sole surviving Eastern Region (Formica interiored) Class 104 DMCL vehicle, so represented some loss to the niche Class 104 enthusiast. However other than the interior wall panelling 50556 was almost identical to its Midland Region sisters, four of which remained in preservation at the time of 50556's demise, so its loss was not considered significant to the wider community. Only one Formica fitted Eastern Region Class 104 now survives, unique TBSL 59228, and the owning group wish to retain the latter if possible, as a more historically significant representative of the former Eastern Region 104 fleet.

	53556, stored in the sidings at Baron Street (Bury), the serious stripping for scrap about to start, 5/7/20. Kevin Dowd

	53556, shunted into a different location at Baron Street (Bury) to allow serious stripping for scrap to start, 5/7/20. Kevin Dowd

	53556 stored at Spring Village, 3/4/15. Zoe Hunter

	53556 in extremely poor condition, stored at Telford, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556 in extremely poor condition, stored at Telford, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556 in extremely poor condition, stored at Telford, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556 in extremely poor condition, stored at Telford, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556 in extremely poor condition, stored at Telford, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556's No2 engine, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556 at the Telford Steam Railway, shortly after arrival, 15/2/01. Stuart Mackay

	A rare view of 53556 whilt in store at Meadowhall. Brian Battersby

Interior

	A view of 53556's unrestored cab (drivers side), 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	A view of 53556's unrestored cab (secondmans side), 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556's first class saloon, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556's middle saloon, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon

	53556's rear saloon, 28/12/09. Chris Moxon