EARM outlines plans for Class 317 driving coach
AS REPORTED in the last issue of Railways Illustrated, the East Anglian Railway Museum (EARM), based at Chappel & Wakes Colne station, near Colchester, has preserved Class 317 EMU Driving Trailer Second Open (DTSO) vehicle 77092.
The vehicle, which formed part of unit 317345, provides the museum with a vehicle that will be used to interpret an important chapter in the story of East Anglia’s railways.
The museum’s collection now spans from the 1880s, with Great Eastern vintage coaches through to the age of steam, diesels, and, now, the era of electric trains operating in the region.
The Class 317 vehicle has been secured by the museum following support from rolling stock asset company Angel Trains, which owned the vehicle. 317345 was stood down from service with Greater Anglia earlier in 2021 and has been in store at Ely Papworth Sidings prior to the DTSO being delivered to the EARM in late October.
The vehicle will be a static exhibit at the EARM. The interior will have displays added to explain the story of the Class 317s, the electrification of the railways in East Anglia, and to provide an explanation of the technology behind electric trains and how they worked.
The EARM is currently overhauling its flagship steam locomotive, LNER N7 0-6-2T 69621, with a completion target by its centenary in 2024. Both the N7s and Class 317s saw service on West Anglia routes from London Liverpool Street, and the museum aims to use both the steam locomotive and EMU vehicle to tell the story of Eastern Region suburban services.
Jack Plumb, from the EARM, told Railways Illustrated that the museum intends to repaint 77092 into Network Southeast livery over the coming months and that it has formed a partnership with the Network Southeast Railway Society, which is providing support for both the vehicle’s repaint and relevant internal displays.