56347 Class 101 Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory
Home Railway |
Location History |
Bressingham Steam & Gardens Feb 05-Jun 15 |
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Current Location |
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Foxfield Railway Jun 15-Jun 17 |
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Current Status |
Stored |
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Mid Norfolk Railway Jun 17-Present |
Current Livery |
BR Green (Half Yellow Panel) |
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TRA Designation |
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Partner Vehicle(s) |
None |
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Owner |
B Smith & N Smith |
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Website |
None |
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Record Last Updated |
13 Janaury 2024 |
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Preservation Modifications |
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Preservation Information Bressingham purchased 56347 in 2005 as a loco hauled passenger coach and was quickly put into service as a vacuum braked control trailer, the cab end being used to control braking if required. The vehicle was repainted green, losing its Regional Railways livery early in its preservation life and the corridor connection was removed and sold on. 56347 saw fairly infrequent use for ten years, as visitors on the Bressingham demonstration line were more often accommodated on the footplate of the engine. However the vehicle was used on special, busier, days such as Thomas events when large numbers were required to be carried. In December 2014, 56347 was put up for sale, surplus to requirements at Bressingham and was purchased the following summer by the Foxfield Railway arriving at its new home in June 2015. However 56347 was to prove unsuited to the Foxfield and after two years of sporadic refurbishment works the vehicle was sold again having never operated at Foxfield. June 2017 saw 56347 relocated to the Mid Norfolk Railway where work to return it to service as a spare DMU vehicle for the line's other Class 101s started immediately. Not a great deal of work was required before the vehicle became operational as a DMU again, and summer 2018 saw its first use in multiple with other Class 101 vehicles on the line. Throughout 2019 56347 was available for traffic as a stengthening vehicle, added to the railway's other 2-car Class 101 sets if extra seats were required. It also saw limited use as a push/pull hauled stock vehicle on occassional gala days if required. In between running days, further improvement works were undertaken to the vehicle. The Covid pandemic halted all operations in 2020 and 56347 was withdrawn from service and stored. The Mid Norfolk were slower than many other railways to reopen and when operations restarted the recently arrived Class 142 set operated all off-peak services instead. During the early 2020's 56347 saw some interior dismantling work in readiness for a period of welding work to rectify the corroded bodywork below the windows, but the work has not yet been able to start. |
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Future Plans |
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On a sub zero day, 56347 seen awaiting repairs outside the shed at Dereham, 2/12/23. Chris Moxon |
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A corridor end view of 56347 standing outside the shed at Dereham, 1/8/21. Ken Jones |
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56347 outside the shed at Dereham, 20/11/20. Peter Singlehurst |
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56347 having been moved outside the shed at Dereham to allow work to start preparing the corridor end for the reinstatement of its corridor connection, 29/1/20. East Anglian Railcar Group |
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56347 at Dereham having gained a half yellow panel, 28/4/18. Brian Smith |
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56347 in use as a push/pull vehicle on the MNR's "nortern section", behind industrial steam locomotive "Wissington" which is so small it is obscured by the sign! 28/8/17. Chris Moxon |
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56347 stored at the Foxfield Railway, 16/7/16. Brian Battersby |
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56347 at its new home the Foxfield Railway, 24/6/15. Anthony Duncan |
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56347 stabled in Bressingham's passenger platform, 20/7/13. Stephen Hughes |
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56347 continues its quiet existance at Bressingham, 24/8/12. Ian McLoughlin |
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56347, awaiting the next Thomas event at Bressingham, 2/5/11. David Beardmore |
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56347, seen with passengers over a bank holiday weekend, 29/8/10. Bill Pugsley |
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56347 stabled in the shed at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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View of 56347's cab at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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56347 stabled in the shed at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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View of 56347 showing the removed corridor connection at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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View of 56347's underframe at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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View of a window on 56347 at Bressingham, 23/7/08. Paul Moxon |
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56347 stabled in the shed at Bressingham, having recently operated at a Thomas event, 13/8/07. Chris Moxon |
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56347 stabled in the shed at Bressingham, 13/8/07. Chris Moxon |
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Freshly repainted 56347 in use as a hauled trailer at Bressingham, 16/10/05. Nick Blyth |
Interior
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The cab, drivers side, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |
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The cab, secondmans side, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |
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View of the cab controls, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |
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The front saloon, which was converted from first to second class pre-preservation, note the blue (first class) Formica bulkhead, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |
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The middle saloon, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |
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The rear saloon, 23/7/08. Chris Moxon |