59276 Class 120 Trailer Second Buffet Lavatory

Home Railway	Great Central Railway	Location History	Great Central Railway Feb 84-Present
Current Location	Great Central Railway
Current Status	Stored
Current Livery	BR Green
TRA Designation	2
Partner Vehicle(s)	None
Owner	Great Central Railway
Website	facebook.com/renrailgcr
Record Last Updated	16 September 2023
Preservation Modifications The seating has had full size tables added and the armrests removed. A set of seats next to the buffet has been removed and a bar fitted. The seats opposite the counter have also been removed. Otherwise the vehicle is in its original unrefurbished condition.
Preservation Information 59276 was withdrawn in November 1983 and purchased by a large group of railwaymen comprising of maintenance staff (fitters, electricians, supervisors and managers) based at Cricklewood depot (a 127 depot) along with senior staff from Derby Litchurch Lane (the builders of the 127). Together they formed the Red Triangle Society whose initial aim was to save some 127 vehicles having built and maintained them in service through thick and thin for so many years. However the combination of Class 127 trailer cars being kept for re-use elsewhere, along with the Derby based members realising the Class 120 class would itself soon be extinct, led to centre car 59276 being sought to complete the set. They were aided to success by several well known individuals including loco owner Gerald Boden who did not wish to be directly involved due to the politics of the time, but nevertheless offerd much support and guidance. The asbestos contamination inside 59276 and the fact that 120's and 127's never ran together meant that there were split opinions on preserving the vehicle, but given that the rest of the Class 120 fleet perished then the saving of 59276 was to become very important to DMU preservation. The result of the hard work was the preservation and relocation of a 3-car hybrid 127/120 set to the growing Great Central Railway in 1984. 59276 arrived first and was to be powered by partners 51616 & 51622. The vehicles were restored and returned to traffic in BR Green livery and operated as a set for many years on the GCR. However deteriorating bodywork resulted in 59276 being taken out of traffic in the early 2000's, as its residual asbestos insulation would have been a risk to the public had it been able to escape. A long period in storage was to follow, 59276 spending most of its time in the sidings at Swithland. In 2011 restoration on the Class 127 powercars restarted in earnest under a newly formed team, however funding was very limited and the expensive asbestos contamination resulted in 59276 not being included in the plans. A few years later a deal between the declining Red Triangle Society and Grinsty Rail saw the whole 3-car set sold to the latter to secure the whole set's future. This deal proved to be unwise and in 2020Grinsty Railcontroversially offered the set on the open market having completed no restoration on any of the vehicles including 59276. The Class 127 powercars were sold on during this break-up and lost from the railway, the asbestos in (the historically more important) 59276 making it more problematic to sell on. Several more years of uncertainty followed with members of the Great Central Railway working particularly hard behind the scenes to prevent 59276 from leaving the railway and/or being scrapped. It would seem that the memories of 59276's operation in the 1980's & 1990's as the railway grew was proving a powerful driver for support. In 2021, some 20 years after it had been withdrawn, it seemed that the turning point had finally come with 59276's ownership transferring to the Great Central Railway itself, who placed it under the custodianship of Renaissance Railcars, the successful group who had been restoring and running the GCR's DMU fleet over the previous 15 years.
Future Plans Now that the ownership of 59276 has been secured, the new owners plan to utilise their funding sources to tackle 59276's major flaw: the asbestos insulation. When this has been stripped, Renaissance Railcarshave stated their plans for a full restoration to as near original condition as possible, a fitting status for the last survivor of the Swindon Class 120 class.

	59276 stored behind the signal box at Swithland sidings, 10/9/22. Chris Moxon

	59276 stored at Swithland Sidings. This was an unusual view as the vehicle was normally more "buried" in the rows of stock and therefore less visible from passing trains, 10/1/15. Chris Moxon

	59276 in store at Swithland Sidings, opened specially for a TRA members' tour of the vehicle, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	Underframe detail on 59276 in store at Swithland Sidings, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	59276 in store at Swithland Sidings, seen from passing train, 17/4/10. Chris Moxon

	59276 in store at Swithland Sidings, seen from passing train, 13/9/09. David Beardmore

	59276 in store at Loughborough. Ian Francis

	59276 on the Great Central Railway. The sole surviving Class 120 vehicle, it runs between two Class 127 power cars, 1/12/00. Stuart Mackay

	59276 being loaded for a short move from the mainline at Loughborough to the preserved GCR, 1984. Liam Tinsley

Interior

	The buffet saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The buffet saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The buffet counter, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The buffet saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The buffet counter, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The additional bar fitted to the buffet saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The middle saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	Operational lighting in the middle saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The rear saloon, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	The toilets at the end of the vehicle, 8/9/12. Chris Moxon

	After 12 years storage the batteries still charge and operate the lighting! 8/9/12. Chris Moxon