55029 Class 121 Driving Motor Brake Second
Home Railway |
Location History |
Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway Dec 10-Present |
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Current Location |
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Current Status |
Under Restoration |
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Current Livery |
Network Rail Yellow |
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TRA Designation |
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Owner |
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Website |
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Record Last Updated |
1 April 2024 |
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Preservation Modifications |
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Preservation Information An unusual candidate for preservation, 977968 was surplus to requirements by 2010 and was preserved at the growing Rushden Transport Museum at their base at Rushden station. 55029 was immediately set upon for backdating to original condition. Original parts required to do this, notably doors, windows and seating, were obtained from scrapped Class 117 vehicles. In 2012, with most parts in stock, restoration work on the exterior (No2 side) started with the long process of reinstating doorways. By 2014 the No2 side was substantially complete and work was focussing on the cab ends and No1 side. In September, the vehicle undertook its first moves in preservation and completed several test runs down the line following a gearbox change. In 2016, the departmental generator set was removed, and proper partitions returned to the No1 end. Sadly in the late 2010's the railway entered a period of uncertainty with politics affecting the DMU restoration team. The railway later suspended passenger operations after intervention by the Office of Rail and Road and 55029's restoration was halted. In 2020 some limited restoration work resumed, under a new group of volunteers who scraped down and repainted parts of the running gear. |
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Future Plans |
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55029 under restoration at Rushden, 18/2/24. Paul Hughes |
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55029 under restoration at Rushden, 18/2/24. Paul Hughes |
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55029 under slow restoration at Rushden, 16/8/23. Nigel Benning |
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55029, shortly after restoration restarted, at Rushden, 2/20. Alfie Bryan |
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55029, around the time that restoration was slowing to a stop, 19/10/17. Mark Miller |
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55029 in the platform to have its departmental generator set removed, 9/1/16. Dale West |
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55029 looking better again after reversing the fire damage, 7/6/15. Dale West |
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55029 damaged by fire, 25/5/15. Dale West |
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55029 at Rushden, 21/3/15. Leigh Gration |
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An overall view of corrosion corrosion repairs at the No2 (exhaust) end of the vehicle, 9/2/15. Dale West |
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A close up view of corrosion above the centre cab window at the No2 (exhaust) end of the vehicle, 24/1/15. Dale West |
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55029 at the end of the running line at Rushden, having completed its first moves in preservation after a successful gearbox change, 20/9/14. Ecclesbourne Valley Railway DMU Group |
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Bodywork on No2 end progressing at Rushden, 31/8/14. Dale West |
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Bodywork on No2 end progressing at Rushden, 27/7/14. Dale West |
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Work on the cab end completed, attention turning to the No1 bodyside, 8/6/14. Dale West |
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Work on the cab end progressing with primer applied,1/6/14. Dale West |
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Work on the cab end progressing with primer applied, 24/4/14. Dale West |
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977968 at Rushden, 8/7/13. Nigel Gould |
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Evidence of exterior restoration (replacement doors) at Rushden, 26/8/12. Ian McLoughlin |
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977968 under restoration at Rushden, 24/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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Cab view of 977968 under restoration at Rushden, 24/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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977968, showing the unusual departmental window arrangements at Rushden, 24/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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More departmental modifications, this time to 977968's leading wheel set, 24/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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977968's bufferbeam at Rushden, 24/5/11. Trevor Daw |
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977968 shortly after arrival, at Rushden, 27/12/10. Daniel Adkins |
Interior
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A freshly restored destination blind box for 55029, 13/8/15. Dale West |
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Cab controls during a test run, 9/14. Ecclesbourne Valley Railway DMU Group |
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The modified and highly stripped interior, 9/14. Ecclesbourne Valley Railway DMU Group |