Class 43 disposals

[43096]

That's sad, wonder what made it appear in the list of preserved powercars?

What list of preserved power cars? It was never lined up for preservation, as far as I know.

 

[Southern Dvr]

What list of preserved power cars? It was never lined up for preservation, as far as I know.

43185 was never going to be preserved. Despite it being a celebrity power car it wasn’t in the best condition and so never made the shortlist.

 

[fgwrich]

What list of preserved power cars? It was never lined up for preservation, as far as I know.

I think, because it languished at Brodies for some time after Haymarket, people then got their wires crossed and claimed it had gone for preservation when it was there for further stripping.

 

[brad465]

Tuesday 20th August and Wednesday 21st the scrap merchant started and finished scrapping 43185

That's sad, wonder what made it appear in the list of preserved powercars?

It just happened to be the first power car restored to InterCity Swallow livery when with GWR. However its fate was clear when GWR sent it off lease before the Flying Banana railtour in June 2019, ruling out the possibility of it accompanying 43002 on the tour. It then went to Scotrail as a parts' donor, so was never going to be preserved on that basis. Presumably its scrapping confirms all the useful parts have been extracted.

 

[trainswitheddy]

What list of preserved power cars? It was never lined up for preservation, as far as I know.

This list, saw it mentioned on a thread some time ago. Private could of also just meant bought outright for spares donation

It just happened to be the first power car restored to InterCity Swallow livery when with GWR. However its fate was clear when GWR sent it off lease before the Flying Banana railtour in June 2019, ruling out the possibility of it accompanying 43002 on the tour. It then went to Scotrail as a parts' donor, so was never going to be preserved on that basis. Presumably its scrapping confirms all the useful parts have been extracted.

Oh absolutely, but as with any power still sad to see 'em go.

 

[43096]

This list, saw it mentioned on a thread some time ago. Private could of also just meant bought outright for spares donation

Ah, right. It’s nonsense about 185 and always was.

 

[trainswitheddy]

Ah, right. It’s nonsense about 185 and always was.

Aye, it might be a bit late to turn it into a garden shed
I wonder if 300 is next? It has been sat at Reids for a while now, wasn't it meant to be used as part of a restaurant or something?

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

The remains of 030 have also been disposed of at the same scrapyard in Irvine too.

Do you know which scrapyard it is?

 

[43096]

Do you know which scrapyard it is?

It’s been reported as Lowmac Alloys in Irvine.

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

It’s been reported as Lowmac Alloys in Irvine.

Thank you.
I deal with them through my work and have a friend that works there.
Oddly they aren't a scrap yard but a general recycler.

 

[brad465]

It's amazing to me how despite the fleet's vast size and the passage of up to 5 years since the first mass withdrawals, that so few powercars relatively speaking have actually been scrapped. The Wikipedia list, while probably not quite up to date, lists only 26 as scrapped and only 37 in store, out of nearly 200 units. Everything else has either found a new lease of life or is in preservation (19 preserved units must be one of the highest counts of any individual class to enter preservation).

 

[trainswitheddy]

It's amazing to me how despite the fleet's vast size and the passage of up to 5 years since the first mass withdrawals, that so few powercars relatively speaking have actually been scrapped. The Wikipedia list, while probably not quite up to date, lists only 26 as scrapped and only 37 in store, out of nearly 200 units. Everything else has either found a new lease of life or is in preservation (19 preserved units must be one of the highest counts of any individual class to enter preservation).

Always boggled my mind with how slowly scrapping is taking with the fleet, not complaining though...seeing anything get scrapped is pretty heart wrenching however inevitable it may be.

 

[Towers]

Always boggled my mind with how slowly scrapping is taking with the fleet, not complaining though...seeing anything get scrapped is pretty heart wrenching however inevitable it may be.

And I imagine it’s unlikely to pick up the pace now that new markets have been established in various far flung places, too! Plenty of spares to be sold even once they’ve acquired enough units for service!

 

[in_the_west]

Were the cabs retained from these recently scrapped power cars?

It would be rather stupid if they haven't as they might be needed in case one of the HST power cars still in service hits a tree or other obstruction on the line.

 

[Spaceship323]

Were the cabs retained from these recently scrapped power cars?

It would be rather stupid if they haven't as they might be needed in case one of the HST power cars still in service hits a tree or other obstruction on the line.

I don't think they have spare cabs for any other units that they run so why should HST's be any different?, they'll just be repaired as needed

 

[Richard Scott]

I don't think they have spare cabs for any other units that GWR run so why should HST's be any different

I think it's because they're glass fibre so easily damaged but also relatively easy to transplant.

 

[fgwrich]

Were the cabs retained from these recently scrapped power cars?

It would be rather stupid if they haven't as they might be needed in case one of the HST power cars still in service hits a tree or other obstruction on the line.

030 was reported to have been sent there sans cab. Believed to have been removed for 128s repairs.

 

[Towers]

I don't think they have spare cabs for any other units that they run so why should HST's be any different?, they'll just be repaired as needed

HST cabs are notably different to other UK trains as they are a separate, ‘bolt-on’ fibreglass lump. They’re especially vulnerable to damage as they aren’t particularly strong or very well reinforced, as a result of which any significant impact tends to require a replacement cab structure. Fibreglass is durable up to a point, but a serious collision will tend to render the existing cab as scrap. BR tended to have a ‘stock’ of spare cabs, and I believe that at least one new batch was supposedly produced at some point during the privatisation era. Without replacement cabs a crashed 43 would be essentially useless, and so with many of the remaining locos finding new leases of life abroad it would be very shortsighted not to be ensure a there is a decent supply of surplus cabs for the forseeable future.

 

[RUK]

Were the cabs retained from these recently scrapped power cars?

It would be rather stupid if they haven't as they might be needed in case one of the HST power cars still in service hits a tree or other obstruction on the line.

A good point - 43007 ran into a car over a level crossing in Mexico, so parts will be needed to repair its cab.

 

[fgwrich]

HST cabs are notably different to other UK trains as they are a separate, ‘bolt-on’ fibreglass lump. They’re especially vulnerable to damage as they aren’t particularly strong or very well reinforced, as a result of which any significant impact tends to require a replacement cab structure. Fibreglass is durable up to a point, but a serious collision will tend to render the existing cab as scrap. BR tended to have a ‘stock’ of spare cabs, and I believe that at least one new batch was supposedly produced at some point during the privatisation era. Without replacement cabs a crashed 43 would be essentially useless, and so with many of the remaining locos finding new leases of life abroad it would be very shortsighted not to be ensure a there is a decent supply of surplus cabs for the forseeable future.

Indeed, also you’d be surprised at how many there actually are out there. A lot of new units (particularly those from Derby whose continued use of Fibreglass cabs bolted to ally extrusion bodies) will have at least a small amount of spare cabs for those in case of moments, while the moulds will remain for others. The Turbostars seem particularly venerable in this case. However, not all manufacturers do - Siemens construct their entire body cab and all from Ally, which is why any accident damaged Siemens unit will take longer to repair.

 

[43096]

030 was reported to have been sent there sans cab. Believed to have been removed for 128s repairs.

Typo, I assume... 129 needs the new cab, not 128 (which hasn't had a chance to need a new cab with ScotRail yet!).

 

[43096]

HST cabs are notably different to other UK trains as they are a separate, ‘bolt-on’ fibreglass lump. They’re especially vulnerable to damage as they aren’t particularly strong or very well reinforced, as a result of which any significant impact tends to require a replacement cab structure. Fibreglass is durable up to a point, but a serious collision will tend to render the existing cab as scrap. BR tended to have a ‘stock’ of spare cabs, and I believe that at least one new batch was supposedly produced at some point during the privatisation era. Without replacement cabs a crashed 43 would be essentially useless, and so with many of the remaining locos finding new leases of life abroad it would be very shortsighted not to be ensure a there is a decent supply of surplus cabs for the forseeable future.

The stock of spare cabs was used up with 43158 during its repair following the Severn Tunnel collision. When 43071 (Newton Abbot) and 43180 (Edinburgh) required new cabs after their accidents, Porterbrook had a batch of new cabs manufactured.

A good point - 43007 ran into a car over a level crossing in Mexico, so parts will be needed to repair its cab.

Just the skirt elements, I believe. Nothing major.

 

[Towers]

The stock of spare cabs was used up with 43158 during its repair following the Severn Tunnel collision. When 43071 (Newton Abbot) and 43180 (Edinburgh) required new cabs after their accidents, Porterbrook had a batch of new cabs manufactured.

Ah, that’s interesting!

 

[fgwrich]

Typo, I assume... 129 needs the new cab, not 128 (which hasn't had a chance to need a new cab with ScotRail yet!).

Doh! One out. It's been a long day climbing about under Mk3s

The stock of spare cabs was used up with 43158 during its repair following the Severn Tunnel collision. When 43071 (Newton Abbot) and 43180 (Edinburgh) required new cabs after their accidents, Porterbrook had a batch of new cabs manufactured.

Just the skirt elements, I believe. Nothing major.

Which of course was gradually run down over the years with a number of Power Cars requiring replacement cabs, 43160 being one of them after it's, shall we say Glasgow Kiss, with 150219 at Plymouth.

 

[DBS92042]

Mentioned on the WNXX website (with a photo) that the shell of 43185 still exists at the scrapyard, including its cab

 

[JKF]

A fibreglass cab has no scrap value either, so less Financial motive to dispose of them.

What do they actually look like as a stand-alone item, is it the sort of thing that could end up in someone’s garden/theme pubs etc?

edit: Flickr has a nice picture:

Under construction

Cab shells lined up ready for fitting to HST "power cars", photographed during an open day at Crewe Works, Saturday 20th September 1975. I can't say that I ever liked the looks of the HST, and the appearance of the cabs, cheaply fashioned from a hunk of moulded fibreglass, didn't help. An...

www.flickr.com

Anyone need a garden shed?

 

[Sun Chariot]

25+ years ago, I remember seeing a half dozen Eurostar 373 fibreglass cab cones, neatly stacked at North Pole depot.

 

[trainswitheddy]

Mentioned on the WNXX website (with a photo) that the shell of 43185 still exists at the scrapyard, including its cab

Is it still there?

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

Is it still there?

I'll try to find out today as I have to phone them anyway for work.
Update: The office I phoned was in a different yard and didn't know.
The driver I spoke to in my yard wasn't sure if they had started on it or not.
He showed me a picture of it sitting with no bogies.
Interestingly he mentioned when it came in a coach also came in with it but the last he saw it was on its side being worked on.

 

[trainswitheddy]

I'll try to find out today as I have to phone them anyway for work.
Update: The office I phoned was in a different yard and didn't know.
The driver I spoke to in my yard wasn't sure if they had started on it or not.
He showed me a picture of it sitting with no bogies.
Interestingly he mentioned when it came in a coach also came in with it but the last he saw it was on its side being worked on.

Many thanks. Must be a more delicate process than Sims then.