EARM Waggon und Maschinenbau railbus restored

AFTER A seven-year restoration on site at the East Anglian Railway Museum, Waggon und Maschinenbau railbus E79963 returned to use on July 18 during a diesel event. Purchased by British Railways in 1958, E79963 is one of five railbuses that came from Waggon und Maschinenbau and used to frequent the railway network around where the EARM site is now based, so the restoration of one of these attractive vehicles for Chappel & Wakes Colne is particularly appropriate.

The vehicle was previously been based on the North Norfolk Railway but has not been in passenger use for a number of years and moved to the EARM in 2012, where it was initially stored prior to its rebuild being started.

EARM chairman Peter Martin said: “This has been a long project by museum volunteers and has resulted in a first-class restoration of one of the unsung heroes of our railways in the 1950s and 1960s.”

Pictured during its first day back in service following restoration, Waggon und Maschinenbau railbus E79963 arrives at Platform 2 at Chappel & Wakes Colne station on July 18. Bill Pizer