79999 Derby Lightweight Battery Unit

Home Railway	Royal Deeside Railway	Location History	East Lancashire Railway 89-Aug 01
Current Location	Royal Deeside Railway		Royal Deeside Railway May 06-Present
Current Status	Operational (Hauled Stock)
Current Livery	BR Green (Plain End)	Visited Railways	Hammerton St Depot (Storage) 86-89
TRA Designation	E		Private site: Aberdeen (Storage) Aug 01-May 06
Partner Vehicle(s)	79998
Owner	Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society
Website	www.deeside-railway.co.uk
Record Last Updated	1 January 2021
Preservation Modifications Unfortunately, original-style seating could not be sourced for the large (second class) saloons, so DMU bus-type seats were fitted. Portable battery charging equipment was fitted in the guards van.
Preservation Information 79999 & 79998 were latterly used in departmental service as hauled vehicles fitted with test equipment, being withdrawn from passenger service as long ago as December 1966. The second class seating was removed for this purpose but the rest of the vehicles were in original condition. This use enabled the vehicles to survive long enough to be of interest to preservationists when it was time to dispose of the vehicle. The Strathspey Railway attempted to secure the set, but it was bought by the West Yorkshire Transport Museum for use on the abortive Bradford Low Moor scheme. It was put into store in the city's redundant BR Hammerton St. depot, which was the West Yorkshire areas first operational DMU depot in 1954. While in store 79999 underwent complete asbestos removal. The front saloons, behind the cabs, still retained the original seats, with the original shell-pattern moquette, which was in remarkably good condition. 95% of the original brown marble formica remained, with the replacement material being an almost exact match. Externally, the bodywork was in immaculate condition, due to it's aluminium construction. 79999 & 79998were then loaned to the East Lancashire Railway, and once the interior was replaced 79999 went into service. It was repainted into original green livery. 79999 & 79998 later fell out of use, and they were kept in the electric car sheds out of sight for some years. The West Yorkshire Transport Trust's "Transperience" project then went into liquidation, and most of it's assests were auctioned off. One exception was 79999, claimed to be a precaution against disposal through no sale or a high bid by a scrap merchant. The Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society successfully negotiated with the liquidators to purchase the vehicles, and they arrived back in Scotland for storag in 2001, continuign to their site at the Royal Deeside Railway five years later. 79999 & 79998 were returned to passenger services at theRoyal Deeside Railway but the cost of replacement batteries and limited facilities means the vehicle no longer operates under its own power, being used as loco hauled coaching stock instead.
Future Plans There are long term plans for a new set of batteries, but for the forseeable future 79999 will be maintained and used as hauled coaching stock.

	Sc79999 stabled in the platform at Milton of Crathes, 17/11/20. Jonathan Nichol

	Sc79999 receiving an exterior clean at Milton of Crathes, 23/2/20 Royal Deeside Railway

	Sc79999 stabled at Milton of Crathes, 20/8/12. Ian McLoughlin

	79999 at the Royal Deeside Railway, 17/5/08. David Beardmore

	79999 inside the electric car sheds at Bury. The buffer nearest the camera was removed to repair a damaged buffer beam, 1/9/97. Stuart Mackay

	79999 & 79998 during restoration work at Bury, 6/7/94. rob50037

	79999/79998 in platform 4 at Bury Bolton Street, which back then was used for stock stabling, restoration and storage, 7/8/93. Nick Blyth

	79999 & 79998 stabled at Bury, 3/1/91. Neil Cannon