Third Pacer for Dereham

A THIRD Pacer DMU has arrived at the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Dereham station to join the railway’s growing fleet of heritage units. The former Northern Rail Pacer is Class 144 144018, a three-car set that has been acquired from Porterbrook following withdrawal from main line service. The first vehicle was delivered by specialist transport company S A Smith to Dereham station on December 9, 2020, with the other two cars following soon after.

The following day the centre car of the unit (55854) ran away and collided with a level crossing gate, causing damage and delays to road traffic. The Rail Accident Investigation

Branch investigated the incident and police were able to allow single line traffic to pass on one side of the crossing. The vehicle was later recovered and secured.

The three-car set will join a pair of two-car Class 142 units (142061 and 142038) at the MNR and give the railway a flexible solution for offpeak running days, together with the railway’s first generation DMUs. Charlie Robinson, the railway’s Chairman said: “The acquisition of Pacers by the railway is important, as they join our first generation of DMUs and mean that we are assembling a significant collection of this oft forgotten aspect of our railway heritage.”