Llangollen Railway
The Llangollen Railway has been home to first generation DMUs since 1984, and is widely regarded as one of the central hubs, if not the capital, of the DMU preservation world.
The railway originally ran a single 2-car set formed with the strange pairing of Class 127 & Class 105 vehicles, the latter being one of only three Class 105 vehicles to survive. Soon after a dedicated Railcar Group (Llangollen Railcars) was formed and the 1990’s saw a major expansion of the fleet. During those years a further two sets were introduced, an original formation Class 108 and a Class 104, which was the only one of its Class in regular operation until 2004.
In 2004, the fleet was boosted by the completion of the award winning restoration of the only surviving Class 109 set, which was rebuild from a gutted shell by the group in a ten year project. The Class 109 is currently the flagship set for the line and became the forth operational set based on the railway.
In 2017 the group's Class 108 set departed Llangollen on long term hire, but was replaced by a different Class 108 just over a year later returning the home fleet to its previous strength.
The group are one of the most established in the UK and have lead the way in securing dedicated DMU services. The group currently have access to 2 coaches of undercover accommodation, and have dedicated fuelling and messing facilities.
The future seems bright with booming membership and the major restoration of at least two vehicles currently in progress. Along with previous other acquisitions, and reforming of sets, the conclusion of this current rebuild work should see a fifth set enter traffic on the line.
The group have three sets off site (making eight in total). A (Second Generation) Class 141 unit is on hire to the Midland Railway Butterley, which is also where the original Class 108 (mentioned above) is also based. The group also own the only surviving Class 100 set, which had been abandoned and stripped in a very similar fashion to the 109 set when first bought by the group. The 2020’s should see the Class 100 rebuilt to the same standards as the Class 109, a project eagerly anticipated by railcar enthusiasts.