A precis of the work that has been carried out on individual members of the fleet can be found under 'Unit-specific work' below.
A shunt-a-thon at Pentrefelin to place the class 108 in 'pole position' in readiness for it to have a spell in service.
The 108 gets fuelled before taking up its share of operations over the coming weeks. Those brand new overalls won't stay clean for long!
Since the previous report the railcar services at Llangollen have been provided by the Class 108 and the hybrid class 127/108 - mostly on their own as a 2-car unit but occasionally working together as a 4-car.
Friday 12 June at Corwen when 51618 got more positive comments about its paint finish.
Bemused passenger: "Why didn't you change gear?"
Answer: "Because there are no gears to change!"
Hint: there's a "D" [Drive] where all the others have a "4" [4th gear].
Unlike nearly all other preserved "1st-generation" railcars, 51618 has torque converters but no gearboxes. For the moment at least, it's the only one of its type left running.
The other positions on the gear selector are used when the train includes one or more power cars with gearboxes because the driver must then remember to instruct those ones to change gear.
The cause of some grief on Wednesday 10 June: a diaphragm in the brake system split, meaning that the driver couldn't take the brakes off from one cab. Fortunately it happened in Llangollen station, so the train could be worked back to the depot and the class 108 dispatched to cover.
On Saturday 13th June a first official trip was organised for the "DMU Crew" - the name given to our newly formed group dedicated to our younger members and volunteers.
The following report was written by Andy Lowe who organised the trip:-
The main goals for the day were simple: give the members of the team a chance to get to know each other better, check in on the progress of the group's Gloucester Class 100 restoration, and, of course, have a bit of fun!
The day started at a brutal 04:45 to collect transport from Shrewsbury. By 07:30, the DMU Crew was fully assembled at Llangollen and ready for the road: Shaun, Kieran, Adam, Declan, Daniel, Oliver, and Llion, plus Head of Department John.
A special mention must go to the minibus. Acquired for the bargain price of "free," its vibrant, spotted livery ensured it could never be lost in a car park. While several members jokingly suggested this should become the future livery for the Class 110, a swift democratic vote showed an overwhelming preference for something a little more traditional!
Arriving at the Midland Railway Centre around 10:30, the group was met by host Evan, who had kindly arranged a packed, all-access programme. Joined by Craig, Jim, and Allen, the team headed to Swanwick Junction to explore the sheer scale of the site.
The highlights were thick and fast, including:-
The Princess Royal Locomotive Trust building: Viewing Princess Margaret Rose, pristine LMS coaching stock, and Dynamometer Car No. 1.
The Narrow-Gauge Workshop: A fantastic, impressive facility with extensive restoration work underway.
The Depot Tours: Fascinating lookarounds at the diesel depot, Road Transport Museum, and static engines.
The Pacer: Naturally, a trip on the four-car Pacer was deemed non-negotiable. Some might question travelling all the way to Derbyshire just to ride a Pacer, but those people clearly don't understand DMU enthusiasts!
With so much to see, there was no time for standing around, and a brisk pace was kept up to fit everything in—including a very hurried lunch break.
The day finished with a visit to the Gloucester Class 100, where the team was talked through the extensive restoration work completed so far. Seeing inside the power car and trailer really brought home both the massive scale of the task and the incredibly high standard of workmanship and dedication involved.
While inside the Gloucester, John spoke about the history of the Llangollen DMU Group, where things are heading, and the vital role our younger volunteers will play in that future. Seeing the entire DMU Crew together for the first time was a major highlight of the trip. Their enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and genuine interest in preservation is infectious!
By the time the polka-dot minibus was boarded for the journey home at 19:40, the early start and miles of walking had caught up with everyone. Whilst some of the crew enjoyed a well-earned snooze, the driver fought the fatigue, safely dropped everyone off, and the minibus was finally returned to Shrewsbury to wrap up the day.
It was a long, exhausting 16-hour day, but absolutely worth every minute.
A huge thank you to Evan and the entire Butterley team for their incredible hospitality, and to everyone who came along to make this first DMU Crew outing such a success. The team has returned to Llangollen with plenty of inspiration—and probably more project ideas than strictly needed!
The following pictures show some of the highlights of the day...
Chance for the DMU Crew to see progress in the Gloucester trailer 56097
Oldest (Jim) and youngest (Oliver) in our group meet in 56097. Jim tells lots of stories. Some may even be true. Oliver stays awake somehow!
A Busman's (or Trainman's?) holiday for Travelling Ticket Inspector Kieran. I wonder if he had a valid ticket? ;-)
Restoration progress on 56456 centred on plumbing works this time. Water reached the sink for the first time in at least 15 years on Sunday. Hopefully the floor won't be underwater next time we visit. Still some cleaning up to do.
Tank drain test-fitted after the valve was unseized from all its years of disuse.
Stuart painting up woodwork around one of the doors.
Class 109 50416/56171
The Wickham is still in the middle of its annual exam. Here, Graham is greasing door hinge; those overalls are still too clean!
This collection of electricals under Wickham trailer 56171 includes all of the fuses, the generator control, and the saloon light switch. All of it gets a check over on this exam. Here a ''home-brew' test box is being used to check for earth faults.
Class 110 51813/59701/51842
Mike dealing with the saloon lights from the class 110 - hinges to free up, glass shades to remove and clean, perhaps next time the fittings themselves can be painted up.
The frosted glass "bullseye" lampshades brought back to sparkling clean condition.
Flooring in 51813 now ready for the lino to go down, apart from the cab. A thousand or so nails should keep it all well fastened down. The new heater ducting is also fastened in position.
Preview of the 2nd class seating for the class 110: 'Trojan' moquette was used widely in coaches, less so in railcars.
First class 'charcoal check' also looking good.
Hybrid Class 127/108 51618/56223
Door repair on 51618: it wouldn't latch shut on a hot day, but was fine on a cold day. The striker plate needed a little adjustment to make it work in all conditions (we hope).
Poking about under 51618 to try and find out why we still get an occasional flicker from the "air & axle" light. This switch on the no.1 final drive is part of the circuit, to tell the driver that the final drive is correctly engaged in one direction. Some contact cleaner may cure the occasional flicker - time will tell.
Thanks to Allen Chatwood, John Joyce, Andy Lowe, Mike Martin and Graham Parkin for supplying the pictures that were used in this edition.