HST power car 43081 is preserved at Crewe
AS EXCLUSIVELY revealed by our sister title, Rail Express, former East Midlands Railway Class 43 HST power car 43081 has entered preservation at Crewe Heritage Centre (CHC), as the list of preserved HST power cars continues to grow. 43081 has been donated to CHC by Porterbrook and follows similar donations by the leasing company of 43048/089 and 43159 to the 125 Group (see feature on pages 56-61 in this issue of Railways Illustrated), as well as 43102 The Journey Shrinker to the National Railway Museum.
The 8000th locomotive to be built at Crewe, 43081 now joins heavily-stripped power car 43018, which was donated to CHC last year by Angel Trains and is now nearing the end of a cosmetic restoration to original blue, grey and yellow Intercity colours.
While 43018 has always been destined to be a cosmetic exhibit at the centre due to the extent of rebuilding that would be required, 43081 is complete and operational. The power car’s move from Porterbrook’s facility at Long Marston to Crewe was delayed somewhat, but it arrived at Crewe on September 13. CHC spokesman Mike Lenz told Railways Illustrated that the current plan is to exhibit the two power cars side by side, although there is no intention to add any Mk.3 HST trailers to the collection due to space constraints at the Crewe site and the need to keep space available for main line steam operations and locomotive servicing.