Class 107 returns to Scotland three decades on

DERBY Heavyweight Class 107 DMU DMCL No. 52029 is set to return to Scotland, where it was based throughout its time in BR service, 30 years after it was withdrawn from traffic.

The vehicle has been sold by Cotswold Diesel Railcar Ltd and is destined for the Fife Heritage Railway, which is located at Leven on the

East Coast, five miles or so east of Markinch. It has a half-mile running line, and among its fleet is a former MOD North British shunter, No. 400

River Eden, which was built to the same basic specification as BR’s

Nos. D2700-07. The diesel hydraulic operated at RAF Leuchars prior to entering preservation.

No. 52029 was withdrawn in October 1992, and although its partner at the time, No. 52008, remained in Scotland (moving to the Strathspey Railway), No. 52029 was acquired by the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway with a view to converting it to an observation vehicle. This failed to come to fruition, and it was sold to the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway where a limited amount of work was carried out. A further sale saw it join the Cotswold Diesel Railcar fleet at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway in 2015, with a view to operating it with Class 117 DMBS No. 51360. Some restoration work was undertaken, but with the purchase of more ‘117s’, it was declared surplus and put up for sale earlier this year. It retains Strathclyde PTE orange/ black livery.