Day Trip to Butterley

On 22nd September, ten members set off early at 6:00 am for Butterley. Their mission was to give the powered car, or the Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS) M51937, to be precise, a good cleaning inside and out. In addition, we wanted to use the visit to assess what additional work was needed to put it in running order.

Arrival in Butterley was about three hours later, and most of us headed off for a bacon roll and a brew, before getting stuck in to the task in hand.

Once fed, the cars were unloaded of the multitude of cleaning materials and a tools, and we headed onto the station, but there was no sign of our DMU. However, we needn't have worried as the people at Butterley had got everything in hand and we could see that it was stabled up the line, coupled to their 08 shunter.

Within minutes 08590 towed our DMU into platform 2, and positioned close to the water supply and hose pipes. Work started as soon as the Butterley people confirmed nothing else was moving that day and we had permission to work safely on the track.

Examining the DMU on platform 2 at Butterley

A quick appraisal noted that M51937 was covered in a layer of green grime, which some of the team attacked with scrapers, brushes and hose pipes. Fortunately, it came off fairly easily, to reveal that the bodywork was in excellent condition.

The previous owner had completed the necessary welding repairs and one side had been repainted in 1970's refurbished livery along with full yellow ends. The other side of the coach is partly in primer with several areas rubbed down ready for painting.

The cab interior

Our President, Eddie Fisher, spent much of the day cleaning up the (his) cab and the above picture shows the results of his work. Plus, you can now see out of the windows, thanks to the cleaning team outside. Most of the cab controls are still present but some will be replaced by refurbished equipment as part of the restoration.

Interior of the DMU

The previous owner had made a start on restoring the seat frames in the front passenger compartment and they had been rubbed down and repainted. However, the larger passenger area behind, needs much more work having been used to store surplus cushions and chair backs.

The front compartment had been used as a workshop and there were bits and pieces of the carriage lighting lying around so it was cleared out, and the floor swept and given a good wash down.

Many of the seat cushions and backs are no longer in good condition, having been damaged or the colour is badly faded. We spent a great deal of time swapping them for ones in better condition from the extra stocks stored in the trailer carriage.

The picture above shows the carriage after we put the seat frames back in place and sorted out the better conditioned cushions and seat backs.

We were only able to quickly examine the guard's compartment (sorry no picture). This has also been used as a storage area of various spare parts and restoration materials. We did spot that some of the woodwork in the roof needs replacing, following damage by water, so measurements were taken so that we can plan how it will be replaced.

Group photo of the volunteers in the DMU

At the end of a long but productive day, we had a team photo in the front passenger compartment.

Lastly we would like to thank the Midland Railway Centre and Llangollen Railcar staff for their assistance on the day.

Help us restore our Class 108 DMU

We still need to raise the funds to pay for the restoration of the diesel multiple unit. Please see the details at the foot of this page about how to make a donation.

Nigel Kirkpatrick