Class 457 - The final push

The restoration of the unique class 457 driving motor car 67300 at the East Kent Railway is nearing completion. Not only has large sections of the floor been replaced but many of the parts that have long been missing since it was stopped for parts at Eastleigh works prior to preservation has continued with the 20 year treasure hunt meaning the vehicle is now 99.9% complete. To finish the project off the vehicle is due a repaint into Network Southeast livery. The team would like to have the vehicle ready for the start of June.

This vehicle was formerly a 210 DEMU driving trailer and was converted into Britain’s first ever three phase drive traction unit in 1988. It paved the way for all modern emus built from 1993 onwards. The interior remains unrefurbished which itself is now unique for second generation BR multiple unit stock.

The SERA are looking to raise just £700 to meet the cost of materials of the repaint and are asking if you can spare a few quid to get them closer to that target.

https://gofund.me/d57b9cc0

 

A modest donation made

I don't subscribe to the negativity around EMU preservation and also there is a technical significance, as outlined in the post above.

 

This got me thinking re: traction technology - in a similar vein, the sad story of the NBL diesel 10800 is a loss in that when sold to Brush (and became Hawk), it was a prototype for thyristor control systems on locomotives long before the 86 and 87s were.

 

It was this long term thinking that prompted me to do something about saving the 457.

I describe it to visitors as latter 20th century Stephenson’s Rocket as every EMU built after the mid 90s owed everything to the research work done on the unit. That black box between the bogies doesn’t look very exciting but it was the most significant traction development of the latter 20th Century.

 

Given the prototype nature of the control system, I wonder if it sounded like the class 365 EMUs did as they accelerated - which made a passable impression of a Borg Warner 35 automatic gearbox!