55003 Class 122 Driving Motor Brake Second
Home Railway |
Location History |
Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway Jan 96-Mar 97 |
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Current Location |
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Northampton & Lamport Railway Mar 97-Jul 00 |
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Current Status |
Under Restoration |
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Mid Hants Railway Jul 00-Apr 11 |
Current Livery |
BR Green (Speed Whiskers) |
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Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Apr 11-Present |
TRA Designation |
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Owner |
Cotswold Diesel Railcar Ltd |
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Website |
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Record Last Updated |
1 August 2024 |
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Preservation Modifications |
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Preservation Information 55003 first moved under its own power in July 1996 following extensive engine attention. Although now operational, many subsequent years were spent improving the vehicles condition, and during that time the vehicle moved first the the Northampton & Lamport Railway and later to the Mid Hants Railway. 55003 was also certified for mainline use during its stay there. The vehicle was used on the majority of off-peak services on the line alongside a Class 117 3-car set. Following a change in the owner's priorities, 55003 was sold to Bob Allen, locomotive department manager of the Mid Hants Railway, and remained in serice there. Due to a change in employment in 2011, Bob left the MHR to take over the role of looking after steam loco 70000 Britannia, which resulted in the entire MHR DMU fleet being reluctanctly sold. The MHR itself were offered first refusal to buy 55003, but had to turn the offer down as funds had already been allocated for other projects on the railway. The vehicle was purchased by Cotswold Diesel Railcar Ltd, who relocated it to the landslip-stricken Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in April 2011. Its reliability and versatility has made it a popular addition to the G&WR fleet, and 55003 saw much use operating the "northern section" of the temporarily divided railway, and was part of the celebrations after the railway of two halves was reconnected in October 2012. 55003 then operated thousands of miles each year as the G&WR took full advantage of the uses railcars could offer preserved railways. In June 2014, the group decided to withdraw 55003 from service for a full bodywork overhaul as corrosion (around the cantrail of the vehicle in particular) was beginning to come through and affect the external condition of the vehicle. A contractor was hired to make the repairs happen rapidly, and the first month saw large sections of cantrail down the No1 side as well as the cab area of the No2 end stripped down and repaired with new steel. The guards van floor was also removed and replaced with a steel one. With the contract work concluded 2015-2017 saw a long slog of further bodywork repairs as the extent of the corrosion was vastly greater than the owners had originally intended. After three years the vehicle was fully finished in primer with steelwork completed. During this time, much interior work had also been undertaken, most notably conversion of the brakevan into a disabled saloon and major modifications to the No2 end cab to allow for wheelchair bound driver experience participants, believed to be a preservation first. 2018 saw progress continue with 55003 being transformed into undercoat. During the spring it also ran under its own power again for the first time in a good while! A lot of focus was being put on interior refitting along with the many troublesome doorways, which prevented the exterior from being completed. The work was run in parallel for a further two years, with the group having to maintain their four Class 117 vehicles in traffic. By September 2019 the vehicle was in its first coat of gloss and exited the shed shortly afterawards to make room for other projects. Between 2019 and 2021 further work continues to be made on fitting out the doorways and the interior reassembly, which was steadily progressed. During the summer of 2022, work was advanced enough for 55003 to be taken into the carriage & wagon department's paintshop for assistance on completing a high quality final paint job. This was completed with fresh green applied along with full lettering and lining back to original spec. Several years followed with the owning group steadily progressing the interior rebuild in between other committments maintaining their four Class 117 vehicles. |
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Future Plans Similar to many other single units, 55003 will be able to operate either on its own, strengthened to a 2-car set with the addition of spare Class 117 powercar 51360, or indeed join up with other sets in hybrid 2/3/4/5 car formations as required. |
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W55003 inside the diesel shed at toddington during their diesel gala, 14/7/24. Aaron Browning |
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W55003 outside the shed at Winchcombe, gleaming in the sunshine after the railway's carriage & wagon department completed the exterior repaint on the vehicle, 23/8/22. Aaron Browning |
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55003 at Toddington, unable to be progressed due to the Covid 19 pandemic, 12/7/20. GWSR DMU Group |
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55003 in the sun at Toddington shortly after exiting the shed, 4/11/19. GWSR DMU Group |
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55003 having had a first coat of gloss applied to one side, 19/8/19. GWSR DMU Group |
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55003 now fully in undercoat at Toddington, 6/5/18. GWSR DMU Group |
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Undercoat being applied to 55003 at Toddington, 1/10/17. GWSR DMU Group |
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55003, now in primer, makes a brief appearance outside at Toddington, 9/7/17. GWSR DMU Group |
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55003 briefly outside at Toddington in the early stages of preparation work, 17/10/15. Ian Butler |
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55003 briefly outside at Toddington in the early stages of preparation work, 17/10/15. Ian Butler |
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55003 seen in the shed at Toddington, evidence of its bodywork clear to see,26/7/15. Kevin Gale |
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The first section of completed cantail seen in anti-corrosive primer, 1/7/14. Ian Carpenter |
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New metal replacing rotten cantrail sections, 27/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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A closer view of the corroded cantrail, 17/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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The scale of the cantrail repairs seen here inside the shed at Toddington, 11/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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The No2 end with exhausts and ca dome stripped for repairs, 10/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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Corrosion evident around the roof deome, discoveed shortly after the start of W55003's body overhaul, 9/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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W55003 stabled at Toddington, 9/6/13. Nigel Gould |
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W55003 reverses at Laverton in the evening sunlight, 5/11/12. Neil Carr |
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W55003 & W51405/W59510W51363 in a four car formation at Chicken Curve for a reopening special to Cheltenham Racecourse, 30/10/12. Jack Boskett |
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W55003 in service at Toddington, 4/9/11. Tony Tranter |
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W55003's numberpanel, 1/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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W55003 stabled at Alresford, 25/4/10. Clive Barker |
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W55003 and either W51400 or W51405 at Ropley, 1/1/09. David Beardmore |
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W55003 at Ropley on the Mid-Hants Railway, 20/8/08. Ben Salter |
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W55003 & W51363 in service at Alresford, 1/1/07. 15038 |
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W55003 in multiple with eirther W51400 or W51405 at Alresford, 7/9/06. Andy Cole |
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W55003 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 31/7/05. Steve Hodgson |
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W55003 on the Watercress Line, 23/12/04. Peter Wreford |
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In the company of Class 117 W51363 / W51405 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 29/6/03. Robert Frise |
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W55003 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 8/4/01. Steve Hodgson |
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W55003 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 8/4/01. Steve Hodgson |
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W55003 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 8/4/01. Steve Hodgson |
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W55003 on the Mid-Hants Railway, 8/4/01. Steve Hodgson |
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W55003 on the Northampton & Lamport Railway. Taken just before the dedication ceremony hence the unfinished lettering, 9/10/99. Ian MacDonald |
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W55003 on the Northampton & Lamport Railway. Taken just before the dedication ceremony hence the unfinished lettering, 9/10/99. Ian MacDonald |
Interior
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Further progress on installing the light fittings, 27/10/19. GWSR DMU Group |
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New ceilings and lighting being refitted, 17/10/15. Ian Butler |
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Steelwork repairs, of which there are many! 17/10/15. Ian Butler |
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New steel flooring fitted into the guards van, 29/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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The guards van floor was removed, revealling the framework below, during the bodywork rebuild, 27/6/14. Ian Carpenter |
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An upper view of the cab, seen from the passenger saloon at Toddington, 1/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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The passenger saloon of W55003, comfortable filled with passengers, 1/5/11. Trevor Daw |