Fire damaged EPB or SUB, Twickenham area, circa 1979

[Journeyman]

OK, here's a question to see if anyone can identify a train I remember seeing when I was about four or five years old...so my memories of it are somewhat vague.

I think it was dumped in a siding in the Twickenham area, as I remember seeing it from the window of passing trains, and it would have been roughly around the time 508s were beginning to appear on the SWD, but I remember seeing a number of SUB and/or EPB vehicles, in blue livery, some of which appeared to have been fire damaged. They were there for a while, I think, as I saw them several times, before presumably being taken away for scrap somewhere.

Any ideas? Do we know what the vehicles were, how they were damaged, and what eventually happened to them? I'll be impressed if you can help.

 

[contrex]

Various damaged SUB and EPB vehicles would have made their way to Strawberry Hill depot, which is next to Twickenham. Blood and Custard notes show MBS 12665 of SUB 4621 was damaged by fire at Chessington South 7-Dec-78 but repaired early in 1979. MBS 11312 of SUB 4626 damaged by fire at Motspur Park 26-Feb-79 and condemned. You could trawl through the unit notes for SUBs and EPBs...

https://www.bloodandcustard.com/SR-4SUB.html

https://www.bloodandcustard.com/sR-4epb.html

 

[Journeyman]

Various damaged SUB and EPB vehicles would have made their way to Strawberry Hill depot, which is next to Twickenham. Blood and Custard notes show MBS 12665 of SUB 4621 was damaged by fire at Chessington South 7-Dec-78 but repaired early in 1979. MBS 11312 of SUB 4626 damaged by fire at Motspur Park 26-Feb-79 and condemned. You could trawl through the unit notes for SUBs and EPBs...

https://www.bloodandcustard.com/SR-4SUB.html

https://www.bloodandcustard.com/sR-4epb.html

Yeah, obviously it's a long time ago, so it could have been Strawberry Hill, but my memory suggests it was closer to Twickenham. My family lived in Whitton at the time, so trains I took back then would not have gone past Strawberry Hill.

 

[Beebman]

In 1980 I started commuting between Earley and Richmond, and I think I might have a vague memory of damaged EMU stock in sidings on the Up side to the west of Twickenham near the flyover, but I can't really be certain.

 

[Journeyman]

In 1980 I started commuting between Earley and Richmond, and I think I might have a vague memory of damaged EMU stock in sidings on the Up side to the west of Twickenham near the flyover, but I can't really be certain.

That certainly fits in with my memory. I was pretty sure it was near the flyover.

 

[Dr_Paul]

I remember a couple of tatty carriages in the weed-ridden sidings at Twickenham, parallel to the Windsor lines. I have a feeling that they were from a 501 set, the EMU used on the North London Line, although I'm not sure. There were also some carriages in a similar tatty condition at Strawberry Hill, so I might be confusing them with those.

Addition: I might be getting confused with this: 501s at Strawberry Hill: 'Two 3-car units (xx162 & xx165) were transferred to the SR as Departmental Test Units 051 & 052 in 1969 but did not last long. Formations: 051: M61162 - DB975027; M70162 - DB975028; M75162 - DB975029. 052: M61165 - DB975030; M70165 - DB975031; M75165 - DB975032. 052 was withdrawn by 1970 and 051 was reformed as DB975029-DB975027-DB975030, but was withdrawn in late 1970, and the vehicles scrapped, except for one remaining DTBSO M75165, which was rebuilt to EPB standards and converted for Departmental Use in 1976 as Test Coach “Mars” ADB975032, based at Strawberry Hill, for commissioning refurbished Class 410/411/412 EMUs, but it was scrapped on site by MRJ Phillips (contractors) in August 1987. One DMBSO was used as a Depot Pilot Unit No: 977385, nicknamed “The Beast”, at Strawberry Hill Depot for several years, numbered 501, but was later withdrawn and scrapped in 1995.'