sidmouth Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 AC Railbus 79976 has been languishing at the GCR . Scrapping actually commenced two weeks ago however a stay of execution was obtained and new owners found they are crowdfunding to move the vehicle to Wirksworth and restore it The appeal is over 25% of the way https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ac-railbus-79976/? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 AC Railbus 79976 has been languishing at the GCR . Scrapping actually commenced two weeks ago however a stay of execution was obtained and new owners found they are crowdfunding to move the vehicle to Wirksworth and restore it The appeal is over 25% of the way https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ac-railbus-79976/? As a previous owner of W79976, that is extremely good to hear. You have a HUGE job on but I'm sure worse projects have been successfully tackled. I've just contributed to your fund and would be delighted to offer support in any way that I can. There are (or were - I haven't been to GCR for several years) bits of the railbus stored in various places at Loughborough if they haven't been taken for other use or destroyed by bad storage. I also have one or two bits stored here at my home. Beware if you move the railbus - the last thing that GCR people did was to disconnect the body from the chassis - any attempt to tow it will be dangerous. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any assistance. (CHRIS LEIGH) 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 As I understand it, it is more accurate to say that several approaches have been made to the owners of the vehicle, none of which have yet been taken up. This crowd funding appeal is on behalf of one of the proposals on order to have the necessary funds at hand should their proposal be considered viable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Looks a massive project, good luck to whoever takes it on. Are the mechanical all there or at least in store as all the pictures I have seen indicate there is no engine in place? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall5 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If this is the one that was first preserved at Bleadon & Uphill station then my recollection is that all the mechanicals were removed before sale by B.R. Could be wrong though! Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 19, 2018 This is typically of preservation nowadays, unfortunately a lot of railways have been over run by middle aged middle class idiots who once had a train set when they were eleven and now they are on boards and committees of various railways and if it isn't a steam locomotive and cants be operable in six weeks it has to go! I hope it gets saved and it may not run for many years to come but better than been cut up so they can have a building on the site to store their heavily gold braided 'uniform' with name badges and STATION MASTER emblazoned on hat ,jacket underpants and wherever else he wants it to show his importance ( or impotence!) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted June 19, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 19, 2018 This is typically of preservation nowadays, unfortunately a lot of railways have been over run by middle aged middle class idiots who once had a train set when they were eleven and now they are on boards and committees of various railways and if it isn't a steam locomotive and cants be operable in six weeks it has to go! I hope it gets saved and it may not run for many years to come but better than been cut up so they can have a building on the site to store their heavily gold braided 'uniform' with name badges and STATION MASTER emblazoned on hat ,jacket underpants and wherever else he wants it to show his importance ( or impotence!) The reason for moving the railbus is that the project to repair the canal bridge and to reunite the north and south sections of the GCR requires access to the site where the railbus has been stored [with no restoration work on it for several years] and many other items including a DMU to be moved. The loco shed will also be relocated to the north of the running lines in due course to enable the original alignment to be restored. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the significant costs involved. I don't want to see the railbus scrapped either. Being abusive doesn't help achieve any of this. Dava 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If this is the one that was first preserved at Bleadon & Uphill station then my recollection is that all the mechanicals were removed before sale by B.R. Could be wrong though! Ray. W79976 was at the Yieldingtree Museum at Bleadon & Uphill station and was donated to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway when Bleadon closed. Bodmin removed some seats and used it as a static buffet before setting it aside for disposal. I bought it and moved it to County School in Norfolk before it was taken to the Colne Valley Railway where its sister W79978 is based. For family reasons the main railbus restorer at the CVR left the railway and it was then moved again, to the Great Central where the group restoring the Mountsorrel branch were interested in restoring it for use on their line. I relinquished ownership of it when it went to the GCR as I don't have the physical strength for the work involved in railway preservation. The engine, gearbox and final drive were removed by BR at Ayr in 1968 before it went to Somerset as they are standard DMU components which could be re-used on other classes. (CJL). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 No one is being abusive! All I did was state my experience of how preservation has gone in the last twenty years. I don't tar all volunteers with same brush but its become fashionable with retired folk to volunteer as a ' station master' can't be a lonely porter and dress up an parade around stations with a false sense of importance and not really having any interest or knowledge of railways 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 This is typically of preservation nowadays, unfortunately a lot of railways have been over run by middle aged middle class idiots who once had a train set when they were eleven and now they are on boards and committees of various railways and if it isn't a steam locomotive and cants be operable in six weeks it has to go! I hope it gets saved and it may not run for many years to come but better than been cut up so they can have a building on the site to store their heavily gold braided 'uniform' with name badges and STATION MASTER emblazoned on hat ,jacket underpants and wherever else he wants it to show his importance ( or impotence!) No one is being abusive! All I did was state my experience of how preservation has gone in the last twenty years. I don't tar all volunteers with same brush but its become fashionable with retired folk to volunteer as a ' station master' can't be a lonely porter and dress up an parade around stations with a false sense of importance and not really having any interest or knowledge of railways Sometimes it's better to not type anything. especially when you contradict yourself. As for the railbus, I have some pictures from 15-20 years ago of it at the rear of the GC shed in a poor state. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Robert Shrives Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 Well lets hope some positive progress is possible and thanks to all who have so far aided in any way that the bones still exsist - a bit of an Egyptian mummy rebuild springs to mind but if DMU parts fit then a good mine of parts available. Just as a humorous thought, one saloon could just take an access for all toilet and the other dozen seats, fitted with a TCA and no couplings of any use it would match several modern trains in service!! - gets hat and coat ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Doesn't look that bad IMHO. Seen far worse restored over the years and at least it doesn't seem to have a problem with asbestos like the other one did. As for power I think they had the same engines as the 108s (and others). They're common spares. You could probably even get away with a bus or lorry engine as they are very similar to the ones used by Leyland 11 litre 150 BHP. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) Sometimes it's better to not type anything. especially when you contradict yourself. As for the railbus, I have some pictures from 15-20 years ago of it at the rear of the GC shed in a poor state. I disposed of it to the GCR after my wife passed away in 2006, so it can't have been at Loughborough for more than about 12-13 years - and initially there was work done on it - mainly dismantling. I had it stripped of asbestos by AIR while it was at County School in the 1990s - the GCR (DCRT) has the certificate. The only asbestos was under the flooring. (CJL) Edited June 20, 2018 by dibber25 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 I disposed of it to the GCR after my wife passed away in 2006, so it can't have been at Loughborough for more than about 12-13 years - and initially there was work done on it - mainly dismantling. I had it stripped of asbestos by AIR while it was at County School in the 1990s - the GCR (DCRT) has the certificate. The only asbestos was under the flooring. (CJL) Funny how your memory plays tricks, I could of sworn the pics were from early 2000's but obviously couldn't have been. I remember wandering around it, and with all the panelling off could see all the rot at the bottom of the frames. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushVeteran Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Doesn't look that bad IMHO. Seen far worse restored over the years and at least it doesn't seem to have a problem with asbestos like the other one did. As for power I think they had the same engines as the 108s (and others). They're common spares. You could probably even get away with a bus or lorry engine as they are very similar to the ones used by Leyland 11 litre 150 BHP. Jason I did donate an AEC A220 to this project back in the mid nineties. It had originally come from Derby works and as far as I can remember had a damaged fuel pump, otherwise it was complete I think. I know the lads at Bo'ness are looking for an AEC unit for their 126...................if the railbus project folds..........which I sincerely hope it doesn't. It is probably not a lot different from restoring a bus except that there shouldn't be any chassis rot! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are the final drives the same as railcar ones? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are the final drives the same as railcar ones? Yes, I believe so. There's just one engine/gearbox/final drive, so it is effectively half a Class 121 mechanically. A number of pictures of W79976 appear in the thread on detailing the Heljan O gauge railbus. (CJL) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 That makes it achievable Chris, I remember riding on the other one on the NYMR in the 70s as a child and it sounded like DMU. Is there an interior for it? I saw it when it was at county school and it was basically a shell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 That makes it achievable Chris, I remember riding on the other one on the NYMR in the 70s as a child and it sounded like DMU. Is there an interior for it? I saw it when it was at county school and it was basically a shell All the Formica and the cab partitions etc existed when I passed it to GCR. They were stored in a very leaky CCT body at the back of Loughborough shed, together with a large amount of 'top-hat' section steel bought new for the frame repairs. However, the storage in that CCT was so bad that I doubt that any of it is useable now, 12 years on. The main problem at GCR was that it is a steam railway. Interest in diesels was minimal and in DMUs almost non-existent. For preservationists to be interested in something, they have to have known it or been interested in it when they were younger. The rail buses were so few, and so obscure, that there aren't many of us who rode on or remember them. I was frequently working alone and the work required is too heavy for a lone restorer. A like-minded group with appropriate skills and an understanding of safe working practices would stand a much better chance of achieving something and with a modern re-engineering of the air system to make it reliable (and a railway that doesn't rely on track circuits) someone could have a nice little runabout. (CJL) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 21, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2018 I remember having a look at it at county school and thinking it was a big project. At least its less than half the length of a DMU vehicle One thing is though the stripping has been done so although there will be quite of lot of fabrication required its basically reassembly. I do hope it gets saved Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted June 21, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2018 I just wonder if 79976 is the right railcar to save? 79978 is stored on the Colne Valley Railway and is not operational but at least intact and complete though looking increasingly forlorn. I wonder if the society owners are open to offers? There are photos and details on the railcar.co.uk website: http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/Images/Railbus%20AC/79978-2010-09-12-David-Beardmore.jpg I had a good look at 79976 last year and have set of photos. It is at the tipping point of being restorable if most of the body structure is replaced together with the ancillaries, drive train, interior, seats etc. Still possible but expensive! The GCR priority is to clear the site of caravans, van bodies, old ashpans, lost causes etc so that the canal bridge access and future main line connection can be built. Both these vehicles really need to be moved to a covered workshop. Wirksworth could be ideal. It's not true to say that interest in diesels is now minimal on the GCR. Apart from the locos, Renaissance Railcars have rightly won an award for their Metro-Cammell 101 DMU 3-car set including the unique buffet car. This was running as a 4-car last weekend and there are plans and vehicles to run a 2nd 2-car set. The DMUs are an essential and valued part of everyday GCR operations which can only increase with regular services on the Mountsorrel branch. 79976 was originally brought to the GCR for this duty, but things have moved on and there was a problem with safety clearance access under bridges apparently, also the track circuits. There is also a class 127 Derby/Rolls Royce set which has been mouldering at Quorn for a long time and has its own claim to history. Dava 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I just wonder if 79976 is the right railcar to save? Dava Yes. Because it's existent and currently under threat. I don't think the other one is under threat. They can work out the restoration afterwards. If people didn't take on "mission impossibles" then all we would have is a few stuffed exhibits in museums. Jason 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
009 micro modeller Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I have donated a small amount as I've always liked these vehicles and they are already extremely rare without losing this one. Is the money funding the transport costs to Wirksworth or the purchase of the unit (or both)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall5 Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I believe that the crowdfunding is to cover the transport costs of moving the railcar off the GCR. As yet, it seems, no agreement has been reached as to where it will go. See: https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/gcr-aec-railbus.1162031/#post-2175866 Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Unfortunately there is a development. Unfortunately, with a heavy heart, we have lost out on our bid to take on AC Railbus 79976. The project will be closing and all money will be returned in due course. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ac-railbus-79976/updates/? Hopefully someone else is successful. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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