Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a highly successful 12 mile heritage line which runs between Cheltenham (Racecourse) and Laverton. The route includes four stations and the railway is currently pursuing a three mile northern extension to a fifth station at Broadway.

The railway has two chapters to its DMU operations. The first started in the 1990’s when the initial fleet of a Class 108 power twin set and a Class 101 trailer car (converted into an observation saloon by BR) were acquired for the line. Whilst the 101 was put in storage in poor condition and later sold on, the Class 108 ran for many years operating off-peak services on the growing line.

However the line later shifted in favour of diesel locomotive haulage and the 108 was stored out of service (and was eventualy also moved on in 2012). Several years after the initial reduction in DMU operations, the second chapter of DMU operation began following the unfortunate severing of the railway into two halves by a landslip. For the 2011 and 2012 seasons onwards, the northern section was operated by DMU sets, two of which were loaned to the railway in the “hour of need” and later returned to their respective homes.

Additionally, individuals at the railway itself also purchased a Class 122 single unit and Class 117 3-car set during this time.

The DMU group formed during the line's rebuilding period continued to grow throughout the 2010's, increasing the fleet with the addition of more Class 117 vehicles and a Class 107, although the latter was eventually sold on allowing the group to focus solely on the suburban vehicles.