PREVIOUS GROUP VEHICLES
During the 1990's when vehicles were (relatively) cheap and in good condition the group had a larger number of vehicles in its care, in particular, large numbers of spare parts were housed in ex-BR Mark 1 vehicles as that was the most cost effective option at the time. As time has gone on these support vehicles deteriorated in condition and were also found to be poor defenders against attacks by vandals and thieves. As a result, spares had to be moved to more secure locations and these vehicles disposed of, either for scrap or more usually sold to new owners. We have also bought a couple of non-104 DMU vehicles and broken them up for spare parts. These vehicles previously in our care but no longer are briefly detailed below.
MARK 1 SUPPORT VEHICLES
At the peak, we had six Mark 1 support vehicles located at the Churnet Valley Railway, bought in the 1990's and 2000's. Three were of the GUV design and used for larger spares, two were ex Corridor Brake Seconds converted to brakedown train configuration and used for smaller spares, and one was a gangwayed brake used for a time as a workshop coupled to vehicles under restoration. Only one of the six has been retained, GUV W86500, the other five have been disposed of:
-BG M81114 (sold to North Norfolk Railway Feb 2015)
-GUV W86267 (scrapped Churnet Valley Railway Jul 2017)
-GUV E86828 (sold to Gloucerstershire Warwickshire Railway Dec 2017)
-QQX ADB975492 (sold to East Lancs Railway 2019)
-QQX ADB975493 (sold 2020)
DONOR DIESEL MULTIPLE UNITS
In 2010 the group made use of a good opportunity to gain standard mechanical spares that were suitable for use of the Class 104 fleet. This opportunity came in the form of ultrasonic test unit 901001, a power twin set that had been extremely heavily modified from a pair of Class 101 vehicles. It had been purchased in 2008 by the supporting charity of the Churnet Valley as a works train for the permanent way department, but very quickly was found to be a poor choice. The vehicles were stripped of parts over an 18 month period, with a lot of parts not suitable for Class 104's also sold or donated to a variety of other groups, railways and projects. Other components, such as the three phase generator, also found further use around the railway.
-977391 (scrapped Churnet Valley Railway Mar 2012)
-977392 (scrapped Churnet Valley Railway Mar 2012)
CLASS 104's
30 years of storage in the open with no restoration work having been undertaken has taken its toll on several of our fleet. Many of these have been retained on a long term basis on the grounds that fortunes may pick up if restoration groups grow in size and more vehicles can be returned to service. However, as their condition worsens and siding space becomes tighter at preserved railways, it is becoming harder to justify their retention. Some difficult decisions have therefore had to be taken to also break up some of these vehicles for spares. So far, one vehicle has sadly "lost the battle" and been heavily stripped for spares and scrapped:
-Driving Motor Composite Lavatory E53556 (scrapped East Lancs Railway Dec 2020)
