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C317 (53858, 59446 & 53911) passes Llandevenny on 23 May 1987 with the 16:54 Chepstow to Cardiff Central service. Set C317 was disbanded in October 1989, with the two driving vehicles being scrapped at
Vic Berry's, Leicester during the following year. The centre trailer survived a little longer, being finally withdrawn in June 1993 and almost immediately disposed off at MC Metals, Glasgow. The unit carries the Welsh red dragon logo and minimalist red
speed whiskers, so common on Welsh units at the time. |
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C392 (51147 & 51134) passes Puriton on 2 July 1990 with the 13:13 Worcester Foregate Street to Taunton 'all stations' service. Brent Knoll is the unmistakable hill in the background. This unit was
withdrawn from service in May 1993, but unlike a lot of its classmates, has since passed into preservation, currently residing at the Swansea Vale Railway. Obviously a fitting location, as there is no mistaking in this view that this is a Welsh DMU! |
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C392 (51134 & 51147) is well away from its usual area on 8 June 1991 as it heads up the Cotswold Line at Chilson with the 10:31 Oxford to Worcester Foregate Street service. Although Cardiff allocated
sets were occasionally used on the route, the sight of the Welsh dragon and the 'Valley Train' logo is a little incongruous! This time the destination blind is blank, but frequently when a Welsh interloper was used it would be displaying some highly
unlikely destination. |
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To celebrate (if that's the right word!) the end of heritage DMU operations in South Wales, the Monmouthshire Railway Society ran the 'DMU Demise' railtour on 26 September 1992. The highlight of this tour
was a trip down the branch line into the Ford engine plant at Bridgend, an exceedingly rare piece of track for a passenger train. This involves what at first sight seems to be a very dangerous ungated crossing over the A48. With police in attendance to
stop the traffic, C392 (51134 & 51147) & C395 (51133 & 51140) cautiously cross the road on their way into the plant. |
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With the track bashers now satisfied that they have traversed the final few yards of track into the Ford engine plant at Bridgend, the Monmouthshire Railway Society's 'DMU Demise' railtour on 26 September
1992 re-crosses the A48 in the gathering gloom with C395 (51140 & 51133) leading classmate C392 (51147 & 51134), which is virtually out of sight around the curve. This was reportedly the final working of heritage DMUs in South Wales, with these
two sets making their way to Tyseley shortly after this tour. |
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Former Tyseley DMBS 51331 is paired on the Battlefield Line with the sole surviving Class 118 vehicle (51321). It is seen here with 51131 leading passing Congerstone on 19 September 2009, with the 08:30
Shenton to Shackerstone service, the first train of the day during the line's Diesel Gala. In true heritage DMU tradition the Aberystwyth destination is wildly optimistic! |
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53116 leads a six car Class 116 formation past Naas Crossing at Quedgeley on 18 August 1984 with the 08:48 Birmingham New Street to Bristol Temple Meads service. Unlike Western Region sets London Midland
allocated DMUs were not kept totally permanently coupled in sets such as to warrant painted set numbers on the ends as the Western did. However, Tyseley's units came fairly close to being permanent, and so set numbers were allocated, as can be seen by
the TS611 notice behind the windscreen. |
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Tyseley set 619, with 53854 leading toils up the gradient towards Sapperton Tunnel, seen here passing Chalford on 13 July 1985 with an additional working from the Midlands to Swindon in connection with the
International Air Tattoo at Fairford. 53854 was withdrawn in June 1992 and cut up in the same year at M C Metal Processing, Glasgow. |