Our Class 491 unit is one of two 4TC sets that were purchased from British Rail by London Underground, for use on their overground excursions on the Metropolitan line. In fact, both of these sets comprised vehicles from a number of different British Railways 4TC sets, presumably in order to get vehicles that were in the best condition at that time. The set purchased from London Underground by the Swanage TC Group comprises the following vehicles, all of which came from the initial phase of building. As can be seen, all the vehicles of our set originated in different units. It has been decided that our set will be designated number 413 for the future.
Since the purchase of our unit from London Underground, in the autumn of 2005, it has been in storage at Westfields site, Dinton, Wiltshire. Now the unit is to be moved to a better, and cheaper, storage site at Butterley.
The Group has agreed with Allelys a date of Monday 4th February 2008 for the move to Butterley, but before the unit can be removed from Dinton, the sum of £17,092 must be paid to cover the cost of storage there. The good news is that this sum has now been raised, if promised loans and donations are included. However, it is imperative that the promised sums are deposited in the Group’s bank account ASAP. Any additional donations will also be gratefully accepted and would help take the pressure off the group.
Following the move, rent must be paid to the owners of the new site before any expensive preservation work can be considered. The move has been booked for Monday 4th February, so if anyone fancies going road-siding, the unit should be following A303/A34/M40 from Dinton to Butterley. Please note that there is no public access to the site at Dinton, and arrangements for Butterley are not known yet, so please assume there will be no public access there either.
The good news is that the funds required to move our unit from Dinton to Butterley have been secured. The bad news is that the site at Dinton has not been cleared to allow access to our unit and will take a few days to move all the obstructions.
The move has now been rescheduled for Monday 11th February, so if anyone fancies going road-siding, the unit should be following A303/A34/M40 from Dinton to Butterley. Please note that there is no public access to the site at Dinton, and arrangements for Butterley are not known yet, so please assume there will be no public access there either.
The good news is that two of our vehicles finally left Dinton yesterday (Thursday 14th February 2008) and a third one will be leaving today. The fourth and final vehicle should be at Butterley by Monday evening.
More news and, hopefully, photos, will be posted as soon as they are received. A big thank you for everyone that has contributed thus far. However, there is still plenty more fundraising required to clear the short-term finance needed to facilitate this move, and then to start restoration work.
We intend to call an EGM to form the Group on the Saturday of the Swanage Railway Beer Festival and Diesel Gala (10th May) at Swanage at 15:00. As the only agenda point will be the formation of a group, association, preservation society, or whatever, it will be a good opportunity to meet people and to share ideas.
We are still looking for someone to help with the mechanics of this and also to look into such things as Gift Aid, Charitable status, and Lottery grants.
The Swanage TC Group are attempting to preserve a BR Southern Region Class 491 Unit. We own four vehicles that were formerly owned by London Underground, and intend to form them into a new unit, to be given the number 413. However, restoration costs money. In order to plan restoration work, a steady and regular income is important. You can help by setting up a standing order for a regular monthly amount.
To find out more about the Swanage TC Group, and which vehicles we are preserving, please browse through the menu on the left.
This video taken at Bournemouth station in the 1980s shows, amongst other things, how the 4TC units were operated. Towards the end of the video, a train arrives from Waterloo, consisting of a 4REP unit pulling two 4TC units (which are unpowered). The 4REP unit is uncoupled from the two 4TC units in the platform, and pulls forward into a carriage siding. The waiting Class 33 locomotive then pulls into the platform, and is coupled to the 4TC units. It then pulls the train on towards Weymouth, on the non-electrified section of the route. On the return journey, the Class 33 pushes the 4TC units (controlled from the leading cab of the leading 4TC unit). On arrival at Bournemouth, the Class 33 locomotive is uncoupled from the train and replaced by the 4REP unit, which will then push the train to London Waterloo. Watch the video here.
Today, two of the coaches forming our 4TC set were wrapped up in tarpaulins at Swanwick Junction (the Midland Railway Centre). This is intended to protect them from the weather while they await restoration. A third coach will be similarly wrapped up in the near future, while the brake coach 70824 is hoped to move into the workshops to start restoration early in 2010, finances permitting.
After months, or is it years, of no action, a few individuals associated with Class 33 preservation are looking to see whether there is any hope for the former TC unit stored at Butterley. The unit has been in preservation for a number of years and those that were instrumental in saving the unit no longer have the time to push the project forward.
Whilst the unit has been stored, a large amount of cabling has been stolen from the unit including most of the 27 Way Jumpers and ETH cables that run the length of the vehicles. James Cox, who is heavily involved with 33012 and regularly borrowed by other Crompton owners, has had a look at the unit and, in conjunction with Richard Pinker, who has been heavily involved in the restoration of 33111 and 33108, are considering looking at taking the project forward.
However, if this is to happen there has to be an understanding of what level of support there is for the project both financially and in manpower if this is even going to be considered. It is obvious that a proper group with a constitution needs to be one of the starting points as this has never been finalized previously and this has been a major downfall in the project in the past.
The long-term aim is to bring all of the vehicles back into traffic; however, this will not happen overnight, so the initial aim is to concentrate on the brake vehicle and one of the driving trailers. If these can be overhauled externally, then there is a possibility that these vehicles could be moved to the Swanage Railway where the owning group could complete the internal overhaul of the vehicles. The remaining two vehicles will then be looked at.
At the moment, this is all academic until the level of support for the project can be established. If after this appeal there is the belief that the project can be taken forward, then the constitution will be drawn up and a temporary committee formed to take the unit forward. If, however, there isn't the support, then a decision on what happens to the unit will have to be made and, in its current state, that may mean that it goes to the scrapyard.