How to save a piece of history from the scrapyard

Preserving the past takes passion and perseverance. Chris Howe reports on the successful effort to find a home for a discarded Merseyrail Class 57 electric unit.

The tireless efforts of those involved in preserving steam and diesel locomotives have been well-documented over the decades.

Numerous individuals, who often volunteer their time, spend hundreds of hours ensuring that rail vehicles which were destined for scrap are instead kept in working order. Even simply agreeing to preserve and move a vehicle is a complex and often expensive task.

Earlier this year, I was invited to follow the journey of one particular multiple unit - and learned just how difficult the process can be.

The unit in question was Merseyrail 507001, which was saved from the scrapyard by a group of tenacious volunteers who were determined to save at least one of the PEP-derived electric multiple units.

The 507 Preservation Society has only recently officially taken possession of the unit, but the process to preserve it began in September 2023. This is when the Society’s chairman, Robert Hampton, contacted Paul Knapton, the now Secretary of the Society.

The initial proposition started with the creation of a website (www.Class507.org.uk) and the idea that it would be feasible to save at least one unit.

Hampton had previously been involved with the 502 Preservation Trust, while Knapton (in addition to volunteering on the Talyllyn Railway for over 25 years) is also the owner of a steam roller. They therefore had a great deal of knowledge and practical experience, and were able at an early stage to identify and plan for any problems that may arise.

Having established that preserving a Class 507 could be achieved, they set about finding out how much interest there would be. And they soon had their answer - within two or three weeks almost 70 people had signed up on the website.

A decision was then taken to hold a meeting in November 2023, which Hampton assumed would only require a small venue.

But many more people turned up than had been expected. It was clear there was sufficient interest and that enough people were willing to become actively involved so that the Society could be formed.

Although Hampton started the Society and Knapton became involved at an early stage, a special mention must go to the other members who each play a vital role. Each brings particular skills that will not only be required to keep the unit in working order, but also to manage the Society’s finances and prepare operation procedures.

Following the formation of the Society, Hampton met with David Powell, the rolling stock programme director at Merseytravel.

Representatives from Angel Trains (the unit’s owner) were also on the phone, and both Angel and Powell (on behalf of Merseytravel) were broadly supportive of the idea. With Society members in place, and with support from Merseytravel and Angel Trains, the Society’s constitution was ratified in January 2024 - after which the hard work began.

Although it had only taken around five months from the initial idea to gaining an agreement in principle with Angel Trains, Hampton says they were “really up against it time-wise”, as 507001 was due to be withdrawn in mid-2024.

That meant they had to find a suitable location to keep the unit on a long-term basis, as well as arranging transportation, which meant fundraising to finance the move.

Hampton set about contacting several preserved railways around the country, some of whom politely said they were unable to accommodate the unit, while a small number of others did not respond.

One Society member mentioned the Tanat Valley Light Railway, and the chairman of the Tanat Trust was approached. He responded: “The ‘507’ could be a very interesting venture.”

A site visit took place in January 2024, during which it was established that Tanat would be able to provide a safe, sustainable, and affordable space for the unit.

The Tanat Valley Light Railway is located in Shropshire, about four miles southwest of Oswestry, and was formed from the Llynclys Junction to Llangynog railway. The Tanat Valley Light Railway Company has several locomotives, wagons and vehicles, including three Pacers, although it does not have Office of Rail and Road approval to operate passenger trains.

However, Tanat Railway volunteers have been working hard to ensure that passenger-carrying trains can operate on the railway in the future. Society members have also spent the past 12 months volunteering at the railwa,y to clear a road which will be used to stable the ‘507’.

With the company set up to take ownership of the train, and a location found to stable the unit, Angel Trains generously donated 507001 to the Society for a nominal fee of £1.

Next, the Society had to raise the funds required to move the train by road from Unimetals in Newport to what they initially thought would be Tanat.

A Crowdfunder page was set up on May 4 2024 with an initial target of £10,000. But within just 56 days the target was surpassed, and by June 29 the Society had managed to raise £14,201 - testament to the impact that the ‘507s’ and ‘508s’ have had on people’s lives.

That’s not to say fundraising was straightforward or attracted immediate attention - Knapton and other members of the Society used media contacts to garner as much support as possible. This resulted in Hampton speaking to Radio Merseyside, and then the group was approached by BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio Shropshire.

A clip of the unit, with the story of its purchase, also made the BBC One O’Clock News. After that, the Crowdfunder really gained traction.

£14,000 may sound like a large sum, but there are few transport companies capable of moving three carriages by road. The job requires specialised trailers and tractor units, as well as experienced drivers who can drive STGO Category 3 vehicles (road vehicles with a maximum gross weight of 150 tonnes, with a minimum of six axles).

As it turned out, surpassing the initial target was fortuitous, as the move was anything but straightforward.

With everything in place and with the rollout of Merseyrail’s new Class 777s all but complete, the first move of 507001 was scheduled to take place on December 9.

This move would involve the unit being dragged by a Rail Operations Group Class 37 to Newport, from where the unit would be loaded onto trucks to be transported by road. However, flooding caused by Storm Darragh closed the Marches Line, and the move had to be called off.

A second move scheduled to take place on January 6 was halted by a landslip at Gobowen. This meant that the Allelys team responsible for transporting the unit by road had to be stood down twice at short notice, incurring costs that the Society had to pay.

Angel had looked at the feasibility of using an alternative route, but the route via the Wrexham-Bidston, Chester, Shrewsbury and Marches lines was the only one which was gauge-cleared for ‘507s’ and ‘508s’.

Finding an alternative route would also have required a costly route study which would have taken time to conduct. There was also no guarantee that an alternative route could be found and that it would not require any infrastructure modifications, such as platform adjustments.

Although the ‘507/8s’ do not have the largest of loading gauges, the kinematic envelope was sufficiently constrained that the steps and third rail shoe gear had to be removed before the units could be dragged to Newport.

Thankfully, the Society was able to come to an agreement with Allelys which meant that the third attempt could go ahead, and on Thursday January 23, 507001 and 507029 were transported from Birkenhead EMUD to Newport, with 507001 at the rear.

507029 was subsequently scrapped, while 507001 was split and loaded onto the three transporters on January 24. The unit was then transported to the Allelys depot on the outskirts of Redditch, where it was kept over the weekend.

The following Monday, the convoy set off once again - not to Tanat, but to Litchurch Lane in Derby. There, the unit will be on display alongside other iconic locomotives and units as part of ‘The Greatest Gathering’ in August, which Alstom is hosting as part of the Railway 200 celebrations.

Before then, Alstom will be taking the opportunity to assist the Society by working on the unit to get it ready for the event.

At the same time, its latest intake of apprentices will gain vital experience. This will include refitting the steps and shoe gear, providing the apprentices with an insight into what was considered state-of-the-art technology in the late 1970s.

Once the event is over, 507001 will be transported by road from Derby to its new home at Tanat. It is highly unlikely that installing a section of third rail will ever be an option, but the Society members are hopeful that they will be able to find a solution so that at some point in the future 507001 can be enjoyed by passengers.

At almost every step on the unit’s journey, the reply from those involved seems to have been “yes, let’s see how this can be achieved”, making it a fantastic example of the railway industry coming together not just to preserve a train, but also to ensure that a unit’s legacy is celebrated.

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