51043 Class 126 Driving Motor Brake Second Lavatory

Home Railway

Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway

Location History

Caledonian Railway May 83-Aug 93

Current Location

Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway

Bo'ness & Kinneil RailwayAug 93-Present

Current Status

Operational

Current Livery

BR Green (Speed Whiskers)

Visited Railways

Lancastrian Carriage & Wagon (Contract Restoration) Feb 00-02

TRA Designation

1

Midland Railway Butterley (Contract Restoration) Apr 05-Jun 06

Partner Vehicle(s)

59404 & 51017

Owner

Scottish Railway Preservation Society

Website

www.srps.org.uk

Record Last Updated

19 November 2022

Preservation Modifications
None

Preservation Information
51043 was one of the last class 126 sets in service when withdrawn in January 1983, and was preserved as a historically authentic 3-car set with partners 59404 &51017 by the Swindon Diesel Preservation Society who based the set at the Caledonian Railway.

The set, by now unique, was contaminated with blue asbestos and in poor condition, however the SDPS returned the vehicles to service and repainted 51043 into BR Green during the late 1980's.

All three vehicles including 51043 were sold to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society in 1993 and moved to their base at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway.

51043 did some limited passenger running at the 1993 diesel gala and was then withdrawn from service, being stripped of its asbestos the same year. A mechanical work week in May 1996 enabled the vehicle to run at the diesel gala the following month, the first time since 1993 that the vehicle had operated passenger services. However a full rebuild was required to reverse the damage done by the asbestos stripping and also to tackle th badly corroded bodywork.

The vehicle was repainted into BR Blue in 1998.

2000-2002 saw a false start in the form of a contract restoration at Lancastrian Carriage & Wagon in Heysham. The bodywork undertaken was not satisfactory and the vehicle returned to Bo'ness very much incomplete.

In 1999 fortunes finally turned with a sucessful £180,000 lottery fund grant for the full restoration of 51043, 59404 & 51017. This was completed both at Bo'ness and by contractors at the Midland Railway Butterley where 51043 was sent between 2005 & 2006.

In 2008 the 3-car set was launched into passenger service concluding the sporadic 20 year restoration. Due to the funding grant, this time the overhaul was very thorough with 51043 becoming one of the finest restored DMU vehicles in the UK.

2009 saw the interior painting and restoration of the guards area inside 51043 completed.

Since 2008, 51043 has seen limited use at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, as the vehicle is not in front line service in order to preserve its condition.

In July 2011, the SRPS completed a rolling stock shed designed to house, amongst others, the diesel and electric multiple units in their collection, giving 51043 a future undercover. The same year saw the batteries replaced, however in October the set withdrawn from service due to 51017 suffering an engine failure.

2012 saw the letter rack, which was missing from the brake van, remade to the original design and installed. Refurbished cab windscreen roller blinds were also fitted.

In May 2013 when a replacement engine was fitted to 51017 allowing the set returned to service.

51043 remains in good condition and operates occasionally at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway. The vehicle is not in very regular use, in order to preserve its condition.

Future Plans
To maintain in service.

Sc51043 back undercover and on display at Bo'ness, 14/8/22. Darren JB

Sc51043 rests in the platform at Bo'ness, having not been used during rhe pandemic, 15/7/21. John Horne

Sc51043 approaches the first foot crossing out of Bo'ness station on the 15:35 to Manuel, 31/8/19. John Horne

Sc51043/Sc59404/Sc51017 working the last train of the day from Bo'ness, 1/9/18. John Horne

Sc51043 on the rear of the set heading back into Bo'ness during a (relatively rare) passenger working down the line, 24/9/17. John Horne

51043 on display in its dedicated area in the shed at Bo'ness, 2/1/16. Paul Hadfield

A close up view of the stylish cab end of Sc51043 at Bo'ness, during one of the unit's relatively infrequent running days, 1/6/14. Alistair Mather

Sc51043/Sc59404/Sc51017 on their way to Kinneil, 27/7/13. Keith Sanders

Sc51043/Sc59404/Sc51017, at Bo'ness after returning to service following engine repairs, 19/5/13. John Horne

Sc51043 at Bo'ness after returning to service following engine repairs, 18/5/13. Chris Moxon

Sc51043 waits to leave Bo'ness yard for a test run following the set's return to traffic after engine troubles, 4/5/13. John Horne

Sc51043 on display outside its new shed at Bo'ness, 9/9/12. Nigel Gould

Sc51043 stabled in a shed at Bo'ness, 17/7/11. John Horne

Sc51043 stabled at Bo'ness, 16/6/10. David Beardmore

The Class 126 awaiting departure for it's first trip up the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway as a 3-car since restoration, on a test run to Manual Jct, 15/7/08. Stuart Mackay

Sc51043 and Sc51017 out on their first test run together, just south of Birkhill on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, 11/12/07. John Burnie

On a test run in the yard at Bo'ness, 21/2/07. Stuart Mackay

Taken during the official handover at Butterley after the completion of the contract work. The vehicle returned to the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway in mid-June, 26/5/06. John Burnie

Now with the cab front replated, 11/10/05. Stuart Mackay

Up in the air in Butterley Carriage shed for work underneath, and part way through a cab front replacement, 31/8/05. Stuart Mackay

Looking somewhat worse, 51043 arrives at the Midland Railway Butterley for contract restoration work, 21/4/05. Stuart Mackay

51043 inside the shed at Bo'ness, 4/8/04. Brian Battersby

In the yard of Lancastrian Carriage & Wagon, Heysham, the firm's work on the vehicle complete. The tarpaulins are due to the fact it has no windows fitted. It would return to Bo'ness and then to the Midland Railway Butterley to further it's restoration, 26/5/02. Stuart Mackay

At the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway. Painting into all-blue livery was almost complete at this stage, 22/2/98.

51043 during a summer work week, 18/7/90. Stuart Mackay

Somewhere en-route! Andy McConnell

Another "in the dock". Andy McConnell

Leaving Brechin station, 1989. Andy McConnell

51043 in the dock at Brechin station. Andy McConnell

Now in green, seen in Brechin station. Andy McConnell

In a ghostly grey colour during a repaint. Andy McConnell

51043 at Lawrencekirk. The vehicle is being lifted off its bogies on its way to its first preservation site at Brechin. The lifting brackets (yellow fabrications) were attached with locking pins to corresponding brackets on the chassis and provided outboard spigots for the lifting wires to be attached to. The brackets were immensely heavy - one person could just about move one. As one of our members found out, it was not advisable to transport 4 at a time in the boot of a hatchback! 1983. Andy McConnell

When purchased 51043, 59404 & 51017 were moved by rail to Laurencekirk Goods Yard for onwards road movement to Brechin, 1983. Andy McConnell