What is the difference between a Class 121 and Class 122 'Bubble Car'?

I’ll leave you to ponder that little question for a while. However, as you may have seen in the last blog the railway has taken steps to hire in a new DMU for the early part of the season, after the sale of the Class 117 set. This is where the question above becomes relevant!

The DMU in question is Class 121 ‘Bubble Car’, W55024, which has been hired in from the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway. The ‘Bubble Car’ arrived at Toddington on the 25 Feb, with its FTR Exam conducted the following day. The following weekend it was pressed into service on our BLUE Timetable. 

On hire Class 121, W55024 arrives at Toddington from the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway. (Kev Jarvis)

 

As with both classes of ‘Bubble Car’, the Class 121 DMUs were built for use on branch line services where capacity was pretty low. The Class 121s were built expressly for use on Western Region lines and were very common in Cornwall, the Bristol area and, eventually, in the London area – from where the last remaining units (including 024) worked from Aylesbury depot. The Class 122s were originally built for use on the LM region, but eventually found their sphere of service expanding to include the Western and Scottish regions. Some Class 122s were even converted for parcel traffic and redesignated as Class 131s.

Although built by different companies – Class 121 by Pressed Steel Ltd and Class 122 by Gloucester RC&W – both classes were almost identical; hence the question above! Have you worked it out yet (and no looking at Wikipedia!)?

Many of the vehicles of both classes, including 024 ended their mainline service in use with the Departmental sector, although a small fleet were reactivated for passenger work by Chiltern on the Aylesbury – Princes Risborough shuttle services…. hence why a number of vehicles are now preserved on the CPRR. Many ended up as route learners however, two ended up in use as Severn Tunnel evacuation units.

Okay, I’ve left you hanging far enough. So, what is the difference???  

Our very own Class 122, W55003 at Winchcombe while undergoing asbestos removal. Notice the different cab front to the Class 121 above.

 

Well, as you can see from the photos above, Class 121s were built with a 4-character route indicator box above the cab windows. Class 122s, like our own W55003 had destination blinds built in the same place instead. There was one exception to that rule, however, as W55033 (a Class 121) was built with a destination blind instead of the 4-character route indicator box. Why is a bit of a mystery! The Class 121 was also the longest serving 1^st-generation DMU, clocking up an impressive 57 years in mainline service. A duration probably only matched/bettered by the venerable Class 08, some of which are well into their 60s in mainline operation!

A nocturnal shot of W55024 at London Paddington in 1979, along with one of the unpowered Driving Trailers that were also built as part of the class to strengthen capacity. This is something that we hope to replicate with W55003 and W51360 in the future. This photo is courtesy of Martin Hilbert (Flickr)

In comparison to the photo above, here 55003 is seen at Leamington Spa in January 1987. (Courtesy of Jamerail on Flickr)

So, W55024 will be with us for a short period to cover the off-peak timetable while our own W55003 continues its route through overhaul. Traveling on a ‘Bubble Car’ is an experience as their suspension gives a very unique and bouncy ride compared to a 2 or 3 car DMU. They are also surprisingly quick to accelerate as they only weigh a little over 38 tonnes – roughly the same as a standard Mk. 1 coach! Why not head on down to see for yourself!

(Courtesy of GWSR DMU Facebook)

On the subject of W55003, the overhaul progresses and has reached a bit of a milestone in the last couple of weekends. With the flooring pretty much completed, the first batch of seating frames were anchored in place - see above. A job that was completed last weekend with all the frames in and anchored to the floor. The external hand rails were also added to the Guard’s entrance.

New grab rails fitted to the Guards entrance on W55003. (Courtesy of GWSR DMU Facebook)

 

An agreement has also, apparently, been reached between the Motive Power, C&W departments and the railway to ensure the upkeep of the DMU vehicles left on the railway. As far as the Diesel Department goes, we will be responsible for the mechanical side of things such as the engine and traction systems.

It is hoped that W55003 will be back in action in time to complete the BLUE timetable days at the end of the running season. It would also be good if it was ready in time to do a few runs with W55024 before it heads back home.

Elsewhere, the remaining Class 117 DMS on the railway, W51360 has had its exams completed and is fit for traffic, should passenger numbers require strengthening of the DMU numbers on the BLUE timetable. However, with W55024 in a non-standard BR Maroon livery and W51360 in all over BR Green, the colour clash would be pretty horrific!

Continuing with our new visitor, 024 received fitters attention from the Wednesday Gang on 12 March after it had developed a fault with one of its cab gauges. A suitable and calibrated replacement was found, fitted and tested whilst the unit (along with W55003 and W51360) also underwent air pressure testing for our railway insurers. 

W55024 sits on Road 11 at Toddington MPD. In the cab, Paul C and Hugh J have just driven it over from Road 2 - the DMU siding - so that the 'bubble car' can have the errant gauge removed and replaced and, the air tanks could be pressure tested.

 

The overhaul of Class 26, 26043 has also reached a new target with the loco now in suitable condition to break cover from the David Page shed and be stored outside for a short period. The bodywork on the ‘McRat’ is pretty much complete and it now wears the first layer of blue undercoat, along with yellow undercoat on both cab fronts. Some areas have also received the first application of top coat gloss.

On 22 Feb, 26043 broke cover and ventured into the open for the first time in a long while. Space was required in the David Page shed for the arrival of 'Betton Grange' and so D2280 was fired up to move the Class 26 onto Road 10 for work to continue.

The cab windows have been refitted and the new cab doors, that were manufactured by our colleagues in C&W, have been painted in undercoat and fitted to the loco – replacing the previous ill-fitting doors. One of the doors proved problematic to fit due to historic collision damage, but this was only a minor inconvenience.

In the sunshine, the colours of the undercoat (and some areas of top coat) shine through and show the incredible progress on 26043. Still plenty to do but the finish line is now within reach.

 

The cab interiors are coming together with cab desk surrounds being repainted and refitted, new flooring being fitted and the interior paintwork being refreshed throughout. The cab seats are also currently being refurbished with a view to being refitted in the cabs shortly. Elsewhere, the underframe and bogies are receiving top or undercoat where required, as are the engine room walls after a spot of sanding down.

The cab interiors are slowly being refitted and the pipework repainted. New flooring has also been fitted.

The engine overhaul of Class 24, 5081 continues along with the refreshing of the cab interiors. With the pistons, liners and rings removed for assessment other parts of the engine have been removed for a bit of TLC – something the engine room probably hasn’t had in a couple of decades at least! The last time the loco had an overhaul was in 1975! The cab walls are receiving new corkboard to replace previous board that probably had also been there for some time.     

With the introduction of the mainline diesel fleet to timetabled workings rapidly approaching, the serviceable fleet have been receiving their yearly B Exams. Usually conducted by BR at more regular intervals than in preservation, these examinations ensure that the safety critical and non-safety critical, but still important, elements of the locomotive are in a safe and fully operable condition.

For instance, with a Class 37, a B Exam would be undertaken every 250-275 engine hours. The tasks conducted during this exam would vary from the basic – cleaning the cab windows – to the seriously safety critical, such as wheel flange tolerance and DSD operation.

Although the number of engine hours differed from class to class, the contents of the B Exam would be fairly universal and would be geared towards the loco maintaining a safe operational condition. Locos in preservation do not build up the same number of hours as quickly as they would have in BR service – if you added up the engine hours in a year from any individual loco of the fleet over the course of a running season, it would probably come very close to the guidelines used by BR, whereas in BR traffic a B Exam may have been conducted bi-monthly depending on use. Not least of all, our locos do not spend huge amounts of time idling so don’t rack up engine hours whilst stationary and, the physical demands on the loco are much lower. 

D6948 has been the first loco to have its B Exam completed as it will be the first loco rostered in April - undertaking a Driver Experience on 4 April followed by the PURPLE day on the 5 April. 

Part of the B Exam is looking at the levels and consistency of the fluids. Here, I am checking the Radiator Fan Oil to ensure the reservoir is full and that the oil is looking clean and free of debris.

 

D6948's B Exam went without issue and, after I had completed most of the non-critical tasks a couple of weeks before, the safety critical elements were all examined and signed off on the 26 Feb. Sister loco, 37215 will be starting later , so the B Exam isn't as pressing. The Growler Group are aware of a few growing issues with '215' that will require an extended period out of service in the future, but for now she should be declared fit for service in the next couple of weeks. 

Elsewhere, the B Exams on the Class 47s should also be completed shortly with the first Class 47 allocation being 47105 on the PINK TT day on Sun 6 April. As with the Class 37s, the '47s' haven't had much to correct in the way of maintenance issues and this has allowed the chaps from the BT4F to concentrate matters on 5081's engine and cab overhaul. 

5081 sits in a sunny Toddington shed during its engine overhaul. Several of the BT4F are members of the small group that own the loco so, with both Class 47s requiring little attention over the winter, full attention has been given to the Type 2. 

 

Class 20, 20228, continues to be readied for eventual solo service in 2025. The pipework reinstating the exhauster is being prepped and fitted with the exhauster itself pretty much ready for siting and then eventual testing. 

An array of cylinders and pipework ready for reinstalling the exhauster into 20228. Sadly, they won't stay that clean for long when fitted!

Sister loco, 20137 continues to reside in the yard while 20228 continues to be worked upon. For winter '137' had its AVR removed to prevent frost and water damage and this will need to be refitted, tested and a B Exam completed before it is fit for traffic. It's first venture will be on the PURPLE TT on Thurs 24 April.

Locked out of traffic and awaiting reinstating, 20137 sits down by the old Diesel Department pit and A Frame hoist.

With the majority of CMDG attention being on the Class 26, the 'Peak' 45149 has still received some minor attention over the winter to ensure it is fit for traffic. As with others in the fleet, it is awaiting its B Exam before taking its first rostered turn on the PURPLE TT on Saturday 19 April. 

One piece of work for the 'Peak' that I have been involved in (its been a while!) was on Wednesday 12th March when myself, Andy and Hugh were tasked with fabricating a new exhaust cover for '149'. The old one had blown off the roof at some point and had then been damaged somehow. So the three of us set about testing our woodworking skills!

The exhaust port of 45149. It is usually covered to prevent too much water getting into the engine, however the previous model of cover had become critically damaged after being blown off.

 

After measuring the port, it was time to go and scavenge some wood and material to make a new cover. Hugh put the idea forward of having a longer section on the underside that would fit quite snuggly into the port and therefore make it harder for the wind to get underneath it and blow it off the roof. After finding sufficient quality of plywood, a frame was made to sit in the port reducing the chances of it lifting. 

After some accurate sawing from Hugh, and the sides all screwed together. This section will sit in the port quite tightly and therefore reduce chances of the wind getting underneath it and lifting it out of the port.

 

Andy looks on as Hugh expertly saws some spare would to provide support to the frame.

 

With the frame completed attention turned to the lid. Hugh managed to find some scrap floor trip with which to fashion a crude, but effective handle, to make it easier to lift the plug out. The lid was cut from a large piece of 6mm ply that had been lying around for ages. Andy had found some scrap floor vinyl that would just about fit around the lid. After some heating and stretching of the vinyl, we were able to screw it down to the lid to give it some protection from the elements. 

Crude, but functional! The finished article.

Although it isn't something that would find a place in the Louvre, the cover fit quite nicely and should do the trick pretty effectively. 

The week just passed (10 - 14 March) has seen the railway operate the usual Race Trains on behalf of a private operator that hires the use of the rolling stock. These are, as requested, steam hauled which gives us in the Diesel Department a little extra time to get our locos in A1 condition. However, back in the 1960s and 1970s diesel traction would be utilised to bring racegoers to Prestbury Park by way of special services to Cheltenham Race Course station. 

On his Facebook page, 'The Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham railway archive', long time volunteer Tom Cullimore has posted a number of photos from that period showcasing the different traction used on these 'Race Specials'. It is quite surprising what used to turn up on the special trains! Here are some examples courtesy of Tom, and used with express permission. The photographer, if known, is given in the caption. If you want to see more, head to the page (you have to have a Facebook profile) -  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1293863581633273

Firstly, we start with a photo that a lot of people on the railway would love to recreate if we could get one to visit...

Maroon liveried D1012 'Western Firebrand' departs from Cheltenham Race Course station with an ECS service for Toddington Yard. The 'Western' had worked 1Z41 from London Paddington. Toddington Yard was retained to stable the stock of Race trains rather than have them run to Gloucester or Worcester. (The late Bill Potter)

 

A scene that could have been from only a few years ago but is from 17 March 1972. Class 47, 1743 (later 47150) arrives at Racecourse station with 1Z22 from Blackpool. In Platform 2, 'Peak' D138 (later 46001) waits to run ECS to Toddington. The '47' would run its stock ECS to Gloucester. (John Medley)

'Hymek' D7052 in BR Blue hurries through Pittville, at what is now the limit of the track bed owned by the GWSR, on its way to Racecourse with a train full of race-goers on 20 March 1968. (The late Bill Potter)

 Saving a rarity for last, and another one form the lens of the late, great Bill Potter .....

 

Class 40s were pretty rare on the Honeybourne - Cheltenham line but, on 14 March 1967, D331 (later 40131 under TOPS) heads away from Racecourse station and towards Bishops Cleeve with a special returning punters to Wolverhampton.

Get yourself over to the site, if you haven't done so and have enjoyed the four photos above - or if you have any photos of the line prior to 1976 (steam and diesel) that you wish to share with the wider community. 

Also, for those of you interested in Railwayana and collectables, here is an event that may interest you taking place in Crewe in June. Although we aren't there this year, the Growler Group will have a table in 2026.

 

So, finally, the loco roster for the end of March and into April. Where a loco class is shown with 'xxx', the rostered loco is yet to be decided or is not known.

Date	TT	Rostered Loco(s)
Sun 16 Mar		W55024
Sat 22 Mar		W55024
Sun 23 Mar		W55024
Sat 29 Mar		W55024
Sun 30 Mar		W55024
Tues 1 April		W55024
Wed 2 April		W55024
Thurs 4 April		W55024
Sat 5 April		D6948
Sun 6 April		47105
Tues 8 April		W55024
Wed 9 April		W55024
Thurs 10 April		W55024
Sat 12 April		47xxx
Sun 13 April		D6948
Tues 15 April		47xxx
Weds 16 April		47xxx
Fri 18 April		47xxx
Sat 19 April		45149
Sun 20 April		45149
Mon 21 April		47xxx
Wed 23 April		D6948
Thurs 24 April		20137
Sat 26 April		45149
Sun 27 April		45149
Tues 29 April		W55024
Wed 30 April		W55024
Thurs 1 May		W55024

Once resident at Toddington, now based at Midsomer Norton on the S & D, Class 08 D4095 (08881 under TOPS) rests in the sun at Carriage and Wagon, Winchcombe back in the mid-2000s. (Richard Drewitt)

New Year (ish) - New Blog (finally!!)

 

Firstly, a very belated Happy New Year to you all and I hope that you all had a good Christmas. Apologies for the large gap between the last blog and this one – sadly, I had to contend with my father passing away in October and all the associated ‘Sadmin’ (a term coined by my sister-in-law) which has included trying to organise the sale of his house. Anyone that has had to do this on their own will know just how time consuming this can be.

My old man, along with my Grandfather, was a big reason for me getting into railways and I will always be grateful to them for nurturing my interest. Although he wasn't a huge railway enthusiast, nor did he work on the railway like my Grandfather did, my father had sufficient interest to support my early fascination with railways - taking me on my first spotting visits to Bristol Temple Meads, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Westbury, as well as taking me to the Old Oak Common Open Day in 1984. During this visit we were both given the opportunity to ride on the footplate of KGV into Paddington! If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be where I am today. Here's to you, Old Git!!

My father and grandfather pose in front of 45149 during a visit to the railway in back in 2015, shortly after my grandmother had passed away. Both of them always enjoyed visiting the GWSR - my grandfather especially, as he had driven most of the locos based at Toddington, including 45149, when he worked for BR. I owe them both a lot!!

But, while I have been absent, things in the department have continued apace with a view to the start of the new season in March. It is a big season as we help to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.

2025 marks 200 years of the 'modern' railway. The GWSR will have several events this year to celebrate.

 

2024 finished on a positive, as far as the planned timetable was concerned. Passenger numbers were good and the locos performed as we expected with D6948, 45149 and 47105 taking on the final diesel turns of the season. The big talking point, however, was the sale of our Class 117 3-car DMU, L425 by the owning group. 

 

On its last day at the GWSR, members of the small band of volunteers that looked after L425 in the last few years pose for a seminar photo alongside the set. (Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook group)

The DMUs at the GWSR have never had a dedicated band of volunteers to work on the vehicles, unlike all of the other owning groups, both steam and diesel; and it seemed that the owning group were happy just to let others make decisions and try and keep the units in operational use. In more recent years, a small number of steam (and latterly diesel) volunteers banded together to try and keep the 3-car set serviceable and to complete the protracted overhaul of the Class 122 ‘bubble car’. However, as the list of things needing rectification got longer the availability of people to do the work got shorter – especially as the steam chaps were called back to help with the overhaul preparations for a number of their own fleet or professionally moved onto pastures new limiting the time they could give. Somewhere along the line the owning group decided to downsize and the 3-car was put up for sale to go alongside the one of the ‘spare’ driving cars that never made it to the restoration line – W51372.

Within a matter of weeks, L425 and W51372 had been purchased and a new home announced as the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway in Scotland where the 3-car was put straight into service and work had begun on the repairs needed via their dedicated DMU team. 

Within weeks of arrival at its new home, L425 was in use on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway at their Winter Diesel Gala. (Courtesy of the SRPS - Bo'ness TMD)

 

Back at the GWSR and it was still unknown if the bubble car would be staying, alongside Class 117 DMS W51360, however work has continued on the bubble car on the assumption that it is staying and therefore to get it back into service as quickly as possible – bearing in mind the Class 122 has now been out of traffic for 13 years! 

'Spare' DMS W51360 with W55003 sat behind it on DMU Row. These, along with stores coach W59505, are the only DMU vehicles on the railway now.

The 2025/6 timetable is still reflective of some DMU running and, in the meantime, the railway has acquired a bubble car to start the season on loan from another railway, although details are a little thin on the ground. Watch this space!! 

DMU Row, or Siding 2, at Toddington looks decidedly empty now!

To the mainline diesels and things are ‘operationally calm’, as we say on the big railway! With the overhaul of Class 26, D5343 very well advanced, the only major works to be found has been with fellow Type 2, 5081. For a number of years, the Class 24 has suffered with an engine governor issue that has caused it to be fairly sluggish when taking power. After replacement of the governor several other issues were identified and the owners decided that, when the opportunity arose, to take it out of service and do a full engine overhaul. This was started in November and was combined with an opportunity to refresh the cabs with new boarding and a repaint. 

Two of 5081's liners after removal

Work has progressed fairly quickly on both jobs. The engine overhaul has seen the pistons and rings removed, possibly for the first time since 1975. The liners are currently being assessed ready for cleaning up and, with various items now removed, this gives a chance for the engine itself to have a clean and repaint.

Rocker covers and other engine parts from 5081 drying after receiving a new coat of paint.

In the cabs the boarding that covers the bulkhead at no.1 end has been removed and new boarding has been cut down to the required sizing before being painted and fitted in place.

Some of the new board waiting to go into the cab of 5081.

5343 has had the vast majority of its cab fronts finished with new steel and both have now had a first coat of yellow paint. There is still a fair amount to do with the re-fitting of the multiple working cables and lights, as well as some of the glazing that has been removed. Elsewhere on the bodywork painting has started with a shiny amount of blue now being sported in various locations, as well as some bright orange showing up on the multiple working receptacles.

No. 1 end of 5343 showing the progress that has been made. Although there is still plenty to do, the group are confident of the loco making a welcome return in 2025.

 

Internally, the cabs are a fair way through the respective refurbishments with the pipework and cab walls now wearing new coats of the desired colouring. The cab floors are also now awaiting the fitting of new trim. 

No. 1 end cab showing the new paintwork and flooring.

 

New cab doors have been fabricated from wood and are currently receiving their metal trim before these are painted and fitted. The aim of having the loco back in traffic during 2025 is very much within touching distance. 

One of the new cab doors that have been manufactured awaiting fitting of door handles.

20228’s ongoing exhauster work is also nearing its end with most of the items comprising the exhauster and its pipework now in new coats of paint and ready for refitting to the locomotive. It will be good to have this machine running on its own in 2025. 

Some of the painted air pipes waiting refitting to 20228.

As an aside, 20228’s owner, Steve Madge, has been shortlisted for an award at the 2025 HRA Awards in the ‘Diesel and Electric Locomotion’ category for the work done on reverting 20228 back into it’s British Rail guise. Steve is not the only member of the Diesel Department to get nominated as our Gala Organiser (one of) and youngest Diesel Driver on the GWSR, Alex Raybould, has also been shortlisted in the ‘Lord Faulkner Young Volunteer of the Year Award’.  Good luck to both of them and congratulations on the nominations. They re certainly well deserved. 

Back to the locos and we stay with Steve’s other Class 20, 20137. With its sister occupying the space in the shed 20137 has been banished outside into the yard for the winter. In order to prevent any damage to the loco from the weather, any liquids that could freeze were drained or had additives included to protect from low temperatures. As an extra precaution the loco also had its electronic Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) removed. This is an extremely sensitive piece of kit that does not like long periods of inactivity in cold temperatures and so Steve took the decision to remove it. This means that the loco is completely inoperable until it is refitted and the loco de-winterised. 

20137 at rest in the yard on 29 Jan 25 awaiting reactivation from its winter slumber.

Similarly, ‘Peak’ 45149 has also been winterised to see out the cold weather in the yard after its last use on the Mince Pie Specials over the New Year. As the weather warms and the season gets nearer, the ‘Peak’ will also be de-winterised and undergo its yearly B Exam to ready it for the new season. 

The slumbering giant that is 'Peak', 45149 also awaits the start of the new season in the yard at Toddington.

With some of the BT4F volunteers employed on the engine overhaul of 5081, the groups two Class 47s, 47105 and 47376 ‘Freightliner 1995’ have had a fairly quiet and uneventful winter. However, with the basic winter maintenance underway both locos will be having their B Exams completed in the coming weeks to ready them for the new season.

Talking of B Exams, on Wednesday, 29 Jan I was able to put in a first appearance at Toddington for some 2 months. A hearty number were in attendance with a number of tasks to be divided out and completed. Our HoD, Dave S was busy back on the Class 26 along with new starter, Dan, Duncan J and Andy D.

Phil T and Phil B took on the task of cleaning out the parts washer and renewing the cleaning fluid. Brave blokes……I dread to think the last time it was done!

Our parts washers - valuable pieces of kit for any maintenance environment. The down side is they can get filthy very quickly and need regular cleaning.

Paul C, Dave H and myself made a start on the B Exam for Class 37, 37215. Sister loco, D6948 had had her B Exam started the previous week and was awaiting the completion of all the safety critical elements. Both Class 37’s, like the 47’s, have had a fairly quiet winter with some minor repairs being completed on both locos’ braking systems and some minor tasks rectified – including tracing and mending some minor fluid leaks. 

Checking the oil level on the radiator fan clutch in the rad room of 37215.

 

The non-safety critical tasks on the B Exam are fairly straightforward so it wasn’t long before I found myself completing the non-safety critical elements by myself as Paul had disappeared to complete some work on Class 117 DMS, W51360 that was left over from the previous week. 

And, also checking the oil levels on the top compressor at No. 1 end of 37215. 

 

Dave H and Duncan were treated to an impromptu training session on coupling vacuum hoses together from Hugh. Both have accepted Secondman training for 2025 and one of the skills to master is the coupling up of the ‘vac bags’. It is probably the hardest task a Secondman will undertake mainly because it requires a fair amount of physical effort and technique in a confined space. You will also have quite a few pairs of eyes looking at you when you do it for real and the last thing you want is to look foolish! Take it from someone who knows! 

Once news filtered around as to what they were doing, a small gallery of eyes suddenly appeared to watch them both fighting to control the two hoses on 37215 and D6948. It really is one of those tasks where practice makes perfect and in quieter moments it is always a good idea to have a little practice in the shed.

Fuelled by lunch and healthy dose of Mrs C’s wonderful sponge, I was joined by Paul C and Phil T who helped to complete the last few elements of the B Exam that we are allowed to do. All of the safety critical elements will be completed by our technical gurus in the coming weeks.

Towards the middle of the afternoon, the shed resembled the Marie Celeste. Where had everyone deserted to?

Hugh and Andy D had decided to have a go at tidying up one of the freight vans in the yard. Several sections of the department loan a former 20 tonne VIX Transfesa Ferry van from one of the railway’s benefactors to store some of the larger items of spares inside that there isn’t room for in containers or in the shed. This is usually stored at the end of the line at Broadway but had been brought back to Toddington to access some required items. He had quite a gallery of onlookers……so this is where everyone had disappeared to!

The end result of Andy D's removal of some of the rotten plywood on the ferry van.

Over the years this wagon has not fared very well in the weather and a lot of the plywood used in the construction had either rotted, warped or had been kicked through by vandals so Andy had decided to start looking at making some repairs before it gets taken back to Broadway.     

This is what a VIX Ferry Van looked like in mainline service. Maybe one day ours may run like this again.

Away from the day to day events of the railway, if you are interested in the history of the line in its entirety from Lansdown Junction to Stratford upon Avon then you may wish to visit a new Facebook page dedicated to a pictorial history of the line. You may recall I have previously shared photos of diesels on the line during the 1960s and 1970s courtesy of one of our long time volunteers, Tom Cullimore. Well, Tom has set up this new page to share  his vast collection of photos as well as to invite others to share theirs. You can reach the site, 'The Stratford-uponAvon to Cheltenham Railway Archive ' if you have a Facebook account, via the following link....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1293863581633273/

As a little taster, here is one picture that has appeared here, but also appears on the archive courtesy of Tom. We see Class 40, D316 heading a Class 8 coal train through Winchcombe towards Greet Tunnel in the late 1960s. Class 40s were a rare sight on the line and this capture, by the late Bill Potter, is superb.

Finally, a date for the diary. Our Diesel Gala this year is back to its normal end of July slot and will take place over the 25, 26 and 27 July 2025. A guest loco will be announced although discussions are still ongoing. The visitor will be announced when contracts are signed and sealed.