At its recent meeting the Plc Board were very pleased to agree to the proposal by the directors of CDRL to bring a Class 107 DMCL to the railway. This will be a suitable partner to the Class 117 blue driving unit currently parked at Winchcombe but, as it is not a surburban unit, it has significantly fewer doors; a factor that will certainly be welcomed by C&W! I understand that the new acquisition will be painted in BR Blue livery making available a blue twin car DMU set.
Since the acquisition of Class 117 W51360 in 2013, CDRL have conducted extensive enquiries in an attempt to source a suitable partner vehicle. Their search initially focussed on a suitable Class 117 DMS, and a number of unsuccessful bids were made on the few suitable candidates that came onto the market. Then, in April 2015, Class 107 DMCL SC52029 was advertised for sale by The Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway. This vehicle was withdrawn from British Rail service in October 1992 and has never operated in preservation. An inspection carried out by CDRL in May 2015 showed that the condition of the vehicle far exceeded expectations, having been stored under cover for prolonged periods and not subjected to any cannibalisation for component recovery. Its internal condition looks good and CDRL have sufficient experience backed by a good stock of spares to undertake any repairs necessary to bring it to operation - which is hoped will be sometime in the 2016 season allowing the current DMU set to be taken out for overhaul.
Look out for the arrival of the new vehicle (ignore the garish current livery!) sometime towards the end of August.
Alan Bielby
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