Preservation

Posts about 41001 and our MkIII coaches

Running days in July 2023

A side onimage of power car 43159 in Midland Mainline RIO livery

Join us for 43159‘s unveiling & first outing in her new livery with our friends at Midland Railway – Butterley over the weekend of Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July

Our operations over this weekend are planned to use our record breaking power cars 43159 (the World’s fastest diesel) and 43048 (the first to operate in preservation at 125mph) with Mark 3 coaches 40741, 41067, 42119. 42120 & 42337. Timetable & ticket information for the weekend can be found here.

While on board, come and check out Buffet 125 serving refreshments and snacks throughout the day and enjoy your trip in first class comfort as we operate the Railway’s Yellow timetable of six services each day. Shop 125 will also be open with a wide selection including our new 125 Group and Speed Record branded items.

Other site attractions will be available should you break your journey. Why not take the chance to view 43089 at Swanwick Junction (please note there is no public road access to Swanwick) and maybe take a ride on the Golden Valley Light Railway?

Please come along and support our operation, meet the team and enjoy our early preservation operations along the beautiful Midland Railway.

125 Group would like to take this opportunity to say how very grateful we are to Midland Railway – Butterley for their continued support in both storing and using our lovely HST.

Fleet Update – May 2023

A lot has been happening over the past few months. A number of volunteers undertook the task of both interior and exterior cleaning on our MK3’s at Swanwick in early April ensuring these are clean and fit for service in the near future.

Meanwhile, 43159 (thanks to the kindness of the Midland Railway diesel group) entered the diesel shed at Swanwick for some much needed cosmetic attention. With the powercar under cover, the opportunity was taken to make some overdue repairs to the van roof. The mammoth task of repainting was then started! As May 2023 happens to be the 20 year anniversary since commencement of Midland Mainline’s “Project RIO” services from St. Pancras to Manchester Piccadilly, we chose the latter MML “Ocean Blue” livery, which 43159 carried as a RIO power car for the repaint.

Last but no means least, May 1st saw 43025 officially join the 125 Group fleet, thanks to a generous donation by one of our members. 43025 is in good condition despite being stored for 4 years and will provide a 2nd MTU engined example to complement 43159. As always, updates on restoring 43025 to mainline operation will be featured in our Members Magazine OTF.