55028 Class 121 Driving Motor Brake Second
Home Railway |
Location History |
Swanage Railway Mar 09-Present |
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Current Location |
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Current Status |
Operational (Mainline) |
Visited Railways |
Rampart C&W (Contract Overhaul) Mar 09-Jul 09 |
Current Livery |
BR Green (Half Yellow Panel) |
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Eastleigh Works (Contract Overhaul) Sep 14-Jul 19 |
TRA Designation |
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Owner |
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Website |
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Record Last Updated |
24 May 2025 |
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Preservation Modifications |
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Preservation Information 55028 briefly entered service during the line’s “Railway at Work” weekend. However soon after the vehicle was moved to Rampart, Derby for conversion back into a passenger vehicle as many internal modifications had been made during its time as a departmental vehicle. 55028 was also fully overhauled and repainted into BR Green during the four month stay, returning to the Swanage Railway in July 2009. 55028 was then immediately launched into service and joined the operational DMU fleet. It proved to be a useful vehicle and was used regularly both on its own and substituting for failed powercars in the line's Class 108 and 117 sets. In September 2014, 55028 was withdrawn from service and sent to Eastleigh Works for overhaul and mainline registration. The overhaul work, particularly the mainline specifications, took far longer than originally hoped for. The vehicles involved in the project were the subject of several setbacks concerning the mechanical components such as freewheel units and wheelsets. Combined, these issues led to 55028 being inside Eastleigh works for several years. By November 2016 the vehicle had progressed to the stage where bodywork and painting was required. Moved into the excellent paintshop facility at Eastleigh, 55028 was transformed rapidly, emerging in January 2017 in primer when it was returned to the main works for further fitting out. The following month overhauled engines were fitted to 55028. In April 55028 was returned to the paintshop to receive its final topcoats in BR Green. By late 2017, 55028 was back inside the main workshops at Eastleigh with mechanical overhaul work to the bogies progressing. Problems with registration for mainline running, particularly concerning the wheelsets, led to huge delays with the project to return 55028 to service. It was July 2019, almost five years since being sent to Eastleigh for overhaul, that 55028 finally returned to its home metals at Swanage. 55028 undertook a long period of driver training services, before finally returning to public service during 2021. 2023 was an important year for 55028 when it officially returned to mainline operation as part of the Swanage Railway's "Project Wareham". The much delayed registration was completed in time to run a whole season of almost daily connecting services from Wareham (on the South Western mainline) down the branch and through the preserved section to Swanage. 55028 was registered as a support vehicle for the resident Class 117 so that it could substitute for any of the three cars in the event of failure or maintenance whilst fulfilling the second year of a two-year obligation to trial mainline services between Swanage and Wareham, a condition of grant funding to establish the connection works. However, the mainline link operations proved to be commercially unsuccessful and the DMU service was terminated immediately following the trial after only one season, somewhat wastefully given the huge expense of registration works. 55028 returned to preserved-only usage for the 2024 season and beyond. 55028 currently runs regularly on off-peak services along the Swanage Railway. |
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Future Plans |
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W55028/W59486/W51388 arriving into Corfe Castle, 2/9/22. Dave Bickley |
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W55028 at Corfe Castle waiting patiently for the Covid-19 pandemic to pass, 8/20. Dave Bickley |
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W55028 at Corfe Castle, undertaking driver training runs, 20/12/19. Nick Lloyd |
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W55028 being hauled out of Eastleigh Works, back home to Swanage, 24/7/19. Carl Watson |
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A very shiny W55028, with its overhaul now getting close to completion, 29/3/18. Carl Watson |
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W55028 back on its bogies again at Eastleigh Works, 24/11/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 on jacks inside Eastleigh Works, 1/11/17.Carl Watson |
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An overhaulled bogie with new wheelsets intended for W55028, 1/11/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 in frshly applied BR Green with half yellow panels, 8/6/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 in frshly applied BR Green with half yellow panels, 18/5/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 back in the paintshop and now in primer, 10/4/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 back in the paintshop and now in primer, 4/4/17.Carl Watson |
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Overhaulled engine fitted to W55028, 14/2/17.Carl Watson |
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W55028 rubbed down in the paint shop at Eastleigh, evidence of the previous South West Trains livery can be seen, 30/11/16. Carl Watson |
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Work to fit central door locking to W55028 in evidence, 2/11/16.Carl Watson |
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W55028's No2 end cab roof dome removed to enable repairs, 20/11/15.Carl Watson |
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W55028 shortly after arrival at Eastleigh Works for contract overhaul, 18/9/14.Carl Watson |
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W55028 stabled at Herston Halt, 6/5/11. David Beardmore |
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W55028 in service near Corfe Castle, 17/10/10. Mike Gill |
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55028 & 51346 at Norden, whilst operating half term week service, 27/10/09. Chris Moxon |
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55028 & 51346 between Corfe Castle and Harmans Cross, whilst operating half term week service, 27/10/09. Chris Moxon |
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55028 & 51346 during the sunset at Swanage, whilst operating half term week service, 27/10/09. Chris Moxon |
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A clue to the vehicle's fomer life: a non standard large passenger window inserted into the guards area during the vehicle's departmental days, seen at Swanage, 27/10/09. Chris Moxon |
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55028 & 51346 at Corfe Castle operating evening services, 27/10/09. Chris Moxon |
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55028 at Corfe Castle, September 2009. Simon Edwards |
Interior
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A view of the partly reassembled interior, 14/2/17. Carl Watson |