Mechanical
Batteries
Alpha Batteries - Specifically their 12V 230AH Xplorer Leisure Battery - Suitable for railcars used in pairs. Less than £200 each on next day delivery. These operate without any conversion required to charging systems on DMU's or to "railway" battery chargers typically in use. Life expectancy is shorter than BR style batteries but they are so much cheaper that the price per year is less. Maintenance is also much reduced. These batteries have been fitted to several railcars and Mark 1's successfully and are in regular use on the Llangollen Railway. Also see the guidance notes for fitting, a useful document produced by John Joyce.
Brake Blocks
Railway Wheelset & Brake Ltd - R2 Brake Blocks - 2019 prices (ex VAT): £33.60 per block or £29.50 when bought as a pallet load (125 blocks)
Buffers
CWE - Oleo buffer overhauls - £630 per buffer (2023 price) - Send pictures and also the buffer type (an OP number usually found on the ID plate on the buffer) so they can confirm they can do the overhaul, they have done 104, 108 & 127 types in the past - Contact is Richard Ravenhill
Wabtec Rail Limited - Oleo buffer overhauls - approx £500 per buffer - Contact is Charity Lambie 01302 790 026 (Update: As of 2023 we are unsure if Wabtec are still underaking buffer overhauls, confirmation is required)
Destination Blind Mechanisms
Indicators International - Brand new destination & route indicator blind mechanisms made bespoke to order. Used by Llangollen Railcars on the Class 100, 104 & 105.
Door Locks
Severn Valley Railway - All new wearing parts for door locks: springs, ram bolts, striker plate springs etc - Contact Angela Walker (C&W)
Drive Belts - Also see TRA Sizes Document
Bearing Boys - Right Angle Fan Drive belts (Bb60), Exhauster belts (B50) & Alternator belts (A30)
The Bearing Station - Drive belts for Alternators, Engines, Exhausters and Generators - 08443 356 153 - Next day delivery
Engine Overhaul
Allards - reccommended for crank grinding. As used by Llangollen Railcars in 2021.
Coventry Boring & Metalling - Bought out by Fiennes Engineering - Nitriding & grinding of cranks.
Driveline Engineering Ltd Stoke-on-Trent - 01782 414 834 - Used by LNWR Crewe (Cost approx £3500 but this was a long time ago!)
Foxwood Diesel Chesterfield - 01246 260 199 - Used by East Lancs Railway (A heavily breathing 680 cost £4500 to overhaul). UPDATE: As of 2021 the company no longer have equipment large enough to grind crankshafts from railcar engines.
F W Thornton - Offer some engine bearings but not all sizes.
Hindle Reman Bradford - 01274 732 284 - Used by Llangollen Railway for component remanufacture (Rolls Royce reboring)
Pitcairn Engineering Falkirk - 01324 841 483 - Have experience with bus 680 engine overhauls
Precision Engine Services Inverness - 01463 235 537 (Cost reportedly £5,500).
S L Engine Services (Dave Rushton) - Crank Grinding including crack testing.
South Wales Pistons - Crank grinding and have done good work on AEC components. Unable to offer crack detection or nitriding.
Westwood Commercial Components - some new old stock. Provided bottom-end set of gaskets and a set of mains in 2021.
Engine Mountings
West Somerset Railway PLC - Albion (Class 115) engine mounting rubbers - Andrew Forster 01643 700 389 - WSR purchased the tooling for these in January 2014
EP Valve
EVR DMU Group - EP Valve paper gaskets - EVR DMU Group - Set of 10 £10 inc P+P. Payment via PayPal or cheque payable to Ben Field
Fuel Pump/Injection
Colchester Fuel Injection - Fuel Pump overhaul - good quality but higher prices.
Darwen Diesels - Fuel Pump overhaul - as used by Llangollen Railcars.
Fuel Tank & Gauges
Bayham - Basingstoke - 01256 464 911 - Fuel tank gauges which take direct readings (i.e. with a float), as used by BR on their fuel tanks - See also this useful document showing details of their custom produced direct reading gauges.
Gearbox
Bluestripe Remanufacturing - R14 Gearbox overhauls
Clive Randle - Gearbox seal assistance - Output shaft - inner seal 475 350 62 BS - outer seal 525 425 50 BS & o-ring OR33/5 NI 70
General
Unipart Rail - Still stock some current parts used in the mainline rail industry that fit railcars. Warning, they are expensive! Also look out for occasional tender lists for surplus ex-BR parts at lower prices.
Nuts & Bolts
Arun Fasteners - Useful for imperial fasteners - as used by Llangollen Railcars.
Bolt Base - One of the cheapest suppliers of "normal" (mainly metric) fixings/fastenings including stainless steel - 01259 218 830
Namrick Nut and Bolt Store (located in Hove near Brighton) - Wide selection of BSF fittings
Oil & Lubricant
Morris Lubricants - Offer a huge range of railway spec oils, greases and other lubricants. Many are specifically formulated for rail use, are suitable for railcars and are used by many railcar operators - As well as their website there is a specific rep, Simon Holroyd (07967179507), who should be contacted directly for DMU matters as he has specific knowledge which saves time when researching and/or ordering.
Radiator
G&M Radiator - rubber ferrules used to fit tubes into radiators for standard Leyland 680 engine - Part number RP11003
Seals
DT Seals - Felt Seals, cut to size, shape, etc. DT Seals, 84-90 Evelyn Road, Birmingham B11 3JJ 0121 773 7666
Throttle Motor
Cable-Tec - Repair damaged throttle cables. It helps if you can send as much of the broken one as possible (specifically the end fittings) - 01623 440 398 (These used to be done by Speedograph Richfield but they have stopped)
EVR DMU Group - Throtte Motor paper gaskets - EVR DMU Group - Set of 4 £5 inc P+P. Payment via PayPal or cheque payable to Ben Field
Unloader Valve
EVR DMU Group - Internal Unloader Valve paper gaskets - EVR DMU Group - Set of 3 £4 inc P+P. Payment via PayPal or cheque payable to Ben Field
Vacuum Hoses
Halyard - Large (inter-car bags) & Small (cylinder to vehicle) hoses - 02392 593 979 - In 2014 large hoses were approx £60 each
South Coast Steam - Large (inter-car bags) hoses - 01305 821 723 - Contact is Barry Gambles