50619 Class 108 Driving Motor Brake Second

Home Railway	Dean Forest Railway	Location History	Dean Forest Railway Apr 92-Present
Current Location	Dean Forest Railway
Current Status	Under Overhaul
Current Livery	BR Green (Speed Whsikers)
TRA Designation	4
Partner Vehicle(s)	56492
Owner	Dean Forest DMU Group
Website	deanforestrailway.co.uk/dmugroup
Record Last Updated	1 August 2024
Preservation Modifications The doorway between the guards van and passenger saloon has an extra hinged section added to allow for wheelchairs to pass through. A double seat has also been removed from the adjacent saloon to allow space for one wheelchair, reducing the vehicle's seating capacity from 52 to 50. Self closing exhaust caps are fitted on top of exhaust pipes.
Preservation Information 50619 & 56492 were the first two vehicles bought by the Dean Forest RailwayDMU Group, following their withdrawal in November 1991 at Gloucester Horton Road Depot, where they had latterly been used in an Emergency Services exercise. The pair had been together since 1988 and had been working from Bristol Bath Road depot before purchase for preservation. The set arrived at the DFR in April 1992. August 1993 saw the vehicle was repainted into BR Green with speed whiskers. In October 1993, 50619 was launched into passenger service. The summer of 1996 saw the vehicle repainted again. In June 1996 the vehicle starred in the first "DMU Day", which evolved to become the annual railcar conventions hosted today. In spring 2001, the exterior doors were refurbished. In spring 2002, the front saloon ceiling panels were renewed. The interior wood was also stripped and varnished, the tungsten light fittings replaced, and overhauled vacuum cylinders fitted. In spring 2003, a new corridor connection was fitted. The vehicle was withdrawn in the winter of 2003, and both engines were removed to allow air compressor replacement. The Halon engine fire system was also removed. The engine driven cooling fans were replaced with electrically driven Kenlow thermostatically controlled type. In October 2004, with reapirs complete, the vehicle returned to traffic. In 2007, a new corridor connection was fitted and the roof repainted. 2008 saw the vehicle repainted green. The interiors of the cabs and guards van were also refreshed. In 2009, the vehicle had an interesting role as a driver training vehicle for Arriva Trains Wales, and "rain caps" were fitted to the tops of the engine exhaust pipes. In September 2010 the vehicle's tyres were turned. At the end of the 2014 running season, 50619 was withdrawn from traffic for its corroded cab end to be repaired, returning to service in May 2015 at Thomas event after the work had been concluded. Some major work was completed on 50619 over the winter. The cab front steelwork was corroded and required replacement. Parts of the framework behind it was also in need of replacement. The fibreglass dome was removed and waterproofed followed by the fitting of an entirely new aluminium cab front end. Reassembly followed and a repaint of the cab end completed the task. The opportunity was taken to change the vehicle's half yellow panel to the older cream whiskers on the front end, and the headcode box was also removed. In July 2015 the vehicle was returned to service. During 2015 50619 ran as a 2-car set with 56492 and accumulated almost 700 miles in service. January 2016 saw 50619 receive bodywork repairs to the corridor end, after which the rest of the vehicle and roof were fully repainted. In 2017, 50619 ran over 1,500 miles as part of both 2 and 3-car sets, and was in operation every day a DMU was used. In 2018, 50619 operated every DMU service with 51566, supplemented by 59387 as required, and ran a total of 1,099 miles. In 2019, 50619 again operated every DMU service with 51566, supplemented by 59387 as required, and ran a total of 1,142 miles. With 51914/56492 expected to re-enter service in 2020, 50619 was withdrawn from service at the end of 2019 for essential maintenance. 50619 returned to service in April 2021 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of DMU's on the Dean Forest Railway, back in its original 2-car formation with 56492. In 2022, 50619 operated 298 miles paired with 56492 and including some interesting 4-car & 6-car formations. 2023 saw 50619 & 56492 work all of the 17 DMU running days that year, clocking up 587 miles. They were strengthened to 3 and 4 cars on a handful of those days. The winter closed period saw some heavy maintenance work to 50619 with the main task being a repair to one of the flywheels and curing a leaking gearbox. Mid 2024, 50619 was taken out of service for the corroded corridor end to be attended to, as it was the worst example in the fleet.
Future Plans The group have had great sucess replacing original 108 corroded steel cab fronts with aluminium replacements, and the intention is to repeat this process with the rear (corridor) ends. 50619 is set to be the first of the fleet (and the first in preservation) to receive one of these replacement rear ends. It will of course return to the operating fleet once the work is complete.

	E50619/E59387/M51566 passing through the forest on a Branch Line Society tour, a few months before E50619 was withdrawn from traffic for a brand new rear end to be fitted, 26/5/24. Robert Batty

	E50619/M56492 stand at Parkend, 4/5/22. Alan Pace

	E50619 undergoing repairs at Norchard, 23/10/21. Darren JB

	E50619 out of traffic for repairs at Norchard, 26/9/20. Mark Miller

	E50619 at Norchard, 10/7/19. Nigel Benning

	E50619/M51566 in service at Parkend, 19/4/19. Nigel Benning

	E50619 stabled at Norchard, 16/5/18. Anthony Christie

	E50619/E59387/M51566 depart Norchard Low Level, shortly after E50619 had been repainted, 19/3/16. Chris Walker

	E50619 back in service following a repaint, 23/1/16. Alan Pace

	E50619 inside the tent during its repaint, 6/1/16. Chris Bull

	50619/56492 pass through the Dean Forest during the annual DMU event, 1/8/15. Chris Walker

	50619/56492 (on the left) compare with 3-car set 51914/59387/51566 at Lydney Junction during the annual DMU event, 1/8/15. Chris Walker

	Gloss applied to the cab, 28/3/15. Chris Walker

	The cab progresses well and is now at the undercoat stage, 15/3/15. Chris Walker

	Glazing and roof dome now refitted, 7/3/15. Chris Walker

	The new alloy cab front being fitted to the original framework, 7/11/14. Chris Walker

	Original framework revealed after the steel cab front was removed, 3/11/14. Chris Walker

	50619 at Whitecroft, 16/6/12. Chris Walker

	50619 & 56492 depart Lydney Junction, with 51914 & 59387 on the right during Railcar Day, the debut into traffic of 59387, 16/6/12. Alan Pace

	51914 & 59387 on the left at Lydney Junction, with 2-car set 50619 & 56492 on the right during Railcar Day, the debut into traffic of 59387, 16/6/12. Alan Pace

	50619/56492 at Lydney Junction, 23/7/11. Griffin-Images

	50619 at Lydney Junction, 5/4/10. Dean Forest DMU Group

	50619 with a smart corridor connection weather protector fitted at Norchard, 10/5/09. David Beardmore

	50619 undergoing a repaint at Norchard, 27/9/08. Roger Budd

	50619 on the back of a 3-car formation at parkend, 15/7/07. Rob Phillips

	50619 stabled at Norchard, 7/5/07. Daniel Adkins

	50619 at Parkend, 3/12/03.Dean Forest DMU Group

	Stabled at Norchard.FreeFoto

	50619 at Lydney during the 1st Annual DMU Convention, 29/6/96. Stuart Mackay

	Repainted into BR Green with 56492 at Norchard, 28/5/94.Dean Forest DMU Group

	The vehicle in it's early days on the line. Jim Poor

	Still in BR Blue/Grey livery, shortly after arrival, 1992.Dean Forest DMU Group

Interior

	The cab in E50619, 23/4/22. Chris Moxon

	The cab in E50619, 23/4/22. Chris Moxon

	The front saloon in E50619, 23/4/22. Chris Moxon

	The middle saloon in E50619, 23/4/22. Chris Moxon

	The guards van in E50619, 23/4/22. Chris Moxon

	E50619's main passenger saloon, 22/7/15. Andy Miles

	Refurbished components being fitted to the cab of 50619, 28/3/15. Chris Walker