Class 143 Pacers preserved

EIGHT MORE ‘Pacer’ units are to be preserved, with the first two having already reached their new home. The eight are from the South Wales batch of Class 143s, all of which were taken out of service recently. Already at their new base at the Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway are 143606-607, with the first unit due to be restored to working order and the second to be converted for use as a café, shop and ticket office. This means that the line has an example of both the Class 142 and the 143, as they worked in the area in the final years of their lives.

As previously announced, 143602 is destined for the Nene Valley Railway, with the Wensleydale Railway expecting to get one of the others. 143601/616 are said to be earmarked for the Tanat Valley Light Railway in Shropshire, while two more examples will go for preservation at other yet to be confirmed sites. If all these sales go through it would mean that ten of the 25-strong class have been preserved, along with 21 Class 142s and 15 Class 144s, making 46 Pacers preserved in total.