51017 Class 126 Driving Motor 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

Static Display

Current Livery

BR Green (Plain End)

Visited Railways

Lancastrian Carriage & Wagon (Contract Restoration) Jan 00-Jul 00

TRA Designation

1

Midland Railway Butterley (Contract Restoration) Mar 06-Sep 07

Partner Vehicle(s)

59404 & 51043

Owner

Scottish Railway Preservation Society

Website

www.srps.org.uk

Record Last Updated

16 November 2024

Preservation Modifications
None

Preservation Information
51017 was preserved as a historically authentic 3-car Class 126 set with partners 59404 & 51043by the Swindon Diesel Preservation Society in 1983 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 51017 into BR Green in 1991.

All three vehicles including 51017 were sold to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society in 1993 and moved to their base at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway.

51017 did some limited passenger running at the 1993 diesel gala and was then withdrawn from service, being stripped of its asbestos the same year.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 late 1990's 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 51017, 59404 & 51043. This was completed both at Bo'ness and by contractors at the Midland Railway Butterley where 51017 was sent between 2006 & 2007.

In 2008 the 3-car set was launched into passenger service concluding a sporadic 20 year restoration. Due to the funding grant, this time the overhaul was very thorough with 51017 becoming one of the finest restored DMU vehicles in the UK.

2009 saw some minor jobs, including some seating inside 51017, completed.

51017's air tanks were tested and fully certified in 2010, and the last of the interior varnished doors hung. The driver's seat was repaired as it was not functioning properly, and missing trim was refitted in the secondman's compartment, completing this area. The roller blind mechanism was also refurbished and brought back into use.

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 51017 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. This was not resolved until May 2013 when a replacement engine was fitted and the set returned to service.

From 2013-2019 the set saw occasional use in passenger service, sometimes running the last round trip of the day, in order to preserve its condition.

Unfortunately during the pandemic the set was withdrawn from traffic and did not return to service afterwards. 51017 was assessed and was deemed to require a bogie overhaul before it could be considered for a return to service. Instead, it was placed on static display in the shed at Bo'ness.

51017 remains on display.

Future Plans
51017 is awaiting volunteer resources and finance to undertake the required mechanical repairs before it can return to service.

Sc51017 on display in the shed at Bo'ness, 17/8/24. Ken Jones

Sc51017 rests in the platform at Bo'ness, having not been used during the pandemic, 15/7/21. John Horne

Sc51017 was sepending a brief period of time out in the open, shunted out from its normal shed. The remaining 126 vehicles were undercover under the ex Haymarket train shed, 1/2/20. John Horne

Sc51017/Sc59404/Sc51043 depart Bo'ness on the final service of the day, 1/9/18. John Horne

Sc51017 stands at Manuel on a (relatively rare) passenger working down the line, 24/9/17. John Horne

Sc51017 on display at Bo'ness in its dedicated space in the shed, 2/1/16. Paul Hadfield

Sc51017/Sc59404/Sc51043, at Birkhill after reurning to service following engine repairs, 19/5/13.Chris Moxon

Sc51017/Sc59404/Sc51043, at Birkhill after reurning to service following engine repairs, 19/5/13. John Horne

Sc51017 on display inside its new shed at Bo'ness, 9/9/12. Nigel Gould

Sc51017 stabled at Bo'ness, 16/8/10. David Beardmore

Sc51017 insie the exhibition, 17/8/09. Bill Pugsley

On the rear at Birkill during a test run to Manual Jct, it's first trip up the line since restoration, 15/7/08. Stuart Mackay

Sc51017 an Sc51043 on their first test run after their HLF restoration. The successful outing took them to Birkhill, the current extent of the passenger running line of the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, and are seen here at the crossing on the outskirts of Bo'ness, 11/12/07. John Burnie

Inside the shed at Butterley, it's repaint almost complete, 16/7/07. Stuart Mackay

It's seen here up on jacks in the shed at Butterley for work underneath, 27/2/07. Stuart Mackay

During a shunt in Butterley yard to swap it from one side of the shed to the other. Windows have been removed, and bodywork is advanced replacing panels at the side of the windows. All major underframe components have been removed, 25/7/06. Stuart Mackay

In Butterley shed for work to begin, 8/7/06. Robert Chilton

In Butterley shed for work to begin, 8/7/06. Robert Chilton

In Butterley yard awaiting work to begin. The vehicle is at the Midland Railway Butterley for a HLF funded major restoration, 14/6/06.Stuart Mackay

Lifted of it's bogies at Bo'ness to check for residual asbestos, in preparation for its move to the MRB, 18/9/05. Stuart Mackay

51017 outside the shed at Bo'ness, 4/8/04. Brian Battersby

In the yard of LC & W, the firm's "work" on the vehicle complete. It would return to Bo'ness and then to the Midland Railway Butterley to further it's restoration, 26/5/02. Stuart Mackay

51017 during its short period in blue at Bo'ness, 5/9/98. Andy Cole

51017 at Brechin. It is coming out of the shed after varnishing. In this livery the vehicle would have had a gangway fitted to the cab end, April 1991. Stuart Mackay

51017 at Bechin during the summer work week, 11/8/90. Stuart Mackay

51017 at Bridge of Dun on the Caledonian Railway. Andy McConnell

51017 in the dock at Brechin station. Andrew McConell

51017, 59404 and 51043 pass through Dundee in a freight formation on their way to the Brechin Railway and their new life in preservation, 1983. Andy McConnell

The front saloon, with new laminate ceiling panels fitted and fitting the wall panels about to begin, 12/1/07. Stuart Mackay

51017's interior, 30/7/01.