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25th Annual Railcar Convention

East Lancashire Railway, 12th-14th November 2021.

Report by Chris & Paul Moxon, additional photographs by Tim Stubbs & Lee Scott.

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Introduction

The 25th event which was scheduled for 2020 at the Mid Norfolk Railway had to be sadly cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately the railway and DMU fleet did not really recover enough to undertake the same event a year later, so the association was faced with having to cancel for a second year. However following some hasty phone calls it was agreed for a revised convention to be held on the back of the East Lancashire Railway's existing DMU Weekend event. This saved the day as far as the association was concerned as we now had an event! Although rather last minute, this thrust the ELR into the rather rare group of railways who have now hosted the convention three times, the previous events being in 2017 and 2000.

Fortuitously, the event coincided with the limited time visit of a Class 144 unit to the line, allowing an impressive five sets to be available in traffic. The traction available consisted of Classes 104, 105, 110, 122 & 144, all two cars sets with the exception of the single car 122. Plenty of designs (4 builders) to compare and contrast.

Friday

At first it was thought that the short notice invasion of the association would mean we would have to forego the usual driver experience day. However the ELR well and truly exceeded expectations in this area by opening up the railway and finding the staff to allow these to operate with no less than three sets available to choose from, operating on different sections of the railway.

Operating on the Bury-Ramsbottom section of line was the Class 104 set which was last available for driver experiences in 2007 at the Churnet Valley. Deliberately selected(?) for the twisting section through the Brooksbottom tunnels the famous exhaust notes were great fun through the enclosed space.

On the Bury-Heywood section of line was the Class 110 "Calder Valley" set which hadn't been on diver experiences for over 20 years, the last opportunity being at the 2000 convention. Given the other preserved 110 has never been made available this was only the second day ever that one has been "up for grabs" so for many younger members who had been waiting for many years it was a huge treat. In addition, the centre car was missing from the set giving a cool 720hp for just two coaches. The Rolls Royce engines made a mockery of the gradients and it was only the damp rail head that held back the enormous acceleration.

Finally, on the Ramsbottom-Rawtenstall section was the new kid on the block: the Manchester Fire service's newly acquired Class 144. Given their recent withdrawal from Northern Trains, this was the first time a Class 144 had been available on driver experiences, and only the second time ever for a Second Generation "Pacer" set. Avoided by some, for others it was a fascinating education into how much progress was made between the first and second geneation fleets in terms of acceleration and braking. Many were surprised just how quickly and efficiently the 144 started and stopped. It is clear to see why they were a driver's favourite, even if they weren't a passenger's. It was well worth having a drive with!

Each set ran for most of the day on its relevant section with participants available to ride and talk to colleagues when not driving. The evening saw a social and meal in one of the local pubs which ran into the night!

Saturday

Given that the event had been "tagged on" to the existing DMU Weekend event there was already a full itinerary in place for the weekend, which was of course centred around a three train service using the five available DMU sets in service, some of which were in multiple. All proved remarkably popular with the two coach sets not really being enough to handle the amount of passengers wanting to travel! In previous years particular trains had been busy but this year saw popular trains throughout the whole day.

The afternoon saw the added attraction of a Class 33 diesel loco operating a "DMU drag" hauling the Class 104 and at the same time the Class 122 was hauling a Mark 1 tail load. This was originally meant to be a non passenger vehicle but was switched to a passenger brake, which was the first time during a convention that the tail load was open to the public! Both the drag and the tail load services were very popular with passengers standing.

Formal Meeting

Held in the Old White Lion (pub) meeting room.

1) Chairmans Welcome: Apologies for absence received from Trevor Daw, Neil Bunt, Martin Smith, Sean Whitehead, Chris Lings, Lee Sharpe, Alistair Parsons, Alan Pace, Nigel Benning, Gavin Booth, John Millar & John Horne.

24 people attended.

A big vote of thanks to the East Lancashire Railway for hosting the event at short notice & to single out Kevin Dowd & Paul Bonnello for tirelessly organising all the minutiae that makes up the gathering.

I was pleased to see a good representation of Birmingham built DMU's on the Driver Experiences, and was surprised as to how well the 144 Pacer drove and stopped. (Dare I court heresy & suggest that it was a logical development of our beloved 1st Generation DMU's?)

The last time we gathered, I said 2019 had been a normal year and we were expecting and influx of Pacers to join the ranks. In 2021 we have endured a pandemic & have 58 Pacers preserved (so far).

2) Preservation Roundup: Chris Moxon updated the floor on the last two years, with a few first generation DMU's lost but none of any historical value. The big news was the rapid preservation of the 142/142/144 fleets which were now resident at many railways. A lot of restorations had stalled over Covid and the association was not currently in a position to accurately state the number of vehicles in traffic, in storage and under overhaul.

3) Heritage Railway Association Update: Chris Nesbitt reported that part of the Clean Air Act will affect DMU operators who are making dark smoke. The government can fine owners of units deemed to be breaking the act from £5,000 to £25,000. (Note that it is the owner that is responsible (& pays the fine), not the railway operating the unit)

We should clean the fuel tanks, fuel lines, injectors and change filters regularly. The question was posed - should we be analysing our exhaust fumes? We need to be good neighbours. e.g. by not idling for unnecessary periods & switching off engines during layovers.

Evan Green-Hughes reported on the Standards working group & felt the there was a top heavy structure proposed for the HRSSB board. He stated that the TRA needed to be at the HRA table to assist in policy creation & direction rather than being considered in an advisory capacity.

4) Second Generation Update: Evan gave a summary of the new members to the movement and the acceptance of the Model Maintenance Scheme. It was dissapointing how the new second generation groups had chosen not to accept the association's invitation to the meeting. It was discussed how they were still finding their feet much as those before them had done in the early 1990's.

Evan was thanked for organising the new members, spares distribution & the maintenance scheme.

The recurring fiasco with the HRA subscription had hopefully been settled (again by Evan & the committee)

5) Carlisle Class 108's: Tim Stubbs was this years historical speaker with his stories of running the Derby fleet in Cumbria, but illustrations were absent due to a blue square pen drive failing to couple to a red triangle laptop.

Tim's Carlisle slideshow, which wasn't able to be displayed on the screen at the time, is now available to view: Carlisle Slideshow

6) Conventions: Renaissance Railcars had their offer to host the 2022 convention on the Great Central railway confirmed. Tim's offer for Nigel Tilley to give a talk about the redoubtable shedmaster Harold Smith for 2022's convention was accepted.

The K&WVR have offered to host in 2023.

7) AOB: Chris Nesbitt asked the floor if railways were doing anything about Gas to Liquid (GTL) technology, or Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), since the Government (via the HRA) were sending the message that "Diesel is dirty".

The delegates were thanked for attending and the meeting closed at 18:32.

Fish & Chip Special

The traditional fish & chip special returned to its slightly later slot with an 18:45 departure from Bury up to Ramsbottom, operated by an all-Birmingham built 104/110 power quad set. At Ramsbottom the sets laid over while the railway's steam diner ran the line and chips were consumed! A trip back down the hill and then onto Heywood was then enjoyed before returning to Bury, where the pubs were visited again for those staying the whole weekend!

Sunday

Sunday saw a second day of timetabled DMU services to enjoy for those staying the whole weekend. With a lunchtime steam hauled dining train scheduled and less visitors expected, the timetable was less intensive than the Saturday, which proved to cause problems and again much more people than expected turned up for what should have been a quieter day. With less sets to fit them on the decision had to be taken to run previously booked single sets in multiple and to even run a relief service in a spare path from Bury to Ramsbottom in order to clear the crowds at Bury! It is thought that the unexpected levels of interest were a result of people wanting to get out after the pandemic.

For some members, an altogether more sedate shed tour of the Bury complex was instead enjoyed, the highlight of which was seeing the hidden restoration of Class 121 trailer 56289. This had started out as a simple freshen up and re-lino task which has escalated into major works following the discovery of asbestos and increased corrosion. The end result however will be a much more sound vehicle with many of its earlier features reinstated.

By early afternoon folks were starting to head home, with the end of another fantastic event reached.

Future Events

Following the non existent 2020 and problematical 2021 events, we have high hopes that the lead up to the 2022 gathering will be much more straightforward. The 2022 convention is to be held at the Great Central Railway, who are hosting for the second time, the last being a decade ago. Our hosts Renaissance Railcars, have grown exponentially since our last visit in 2012 with many new additions to the fleet!

Looking further to 2023 the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is currently looking favourite, although authorisation for the event still has to be reached with the railway, hopefully in time to be confirmed at the 2022 event.