Suburban Electric Railway Association
Class 457 EMU DMSO 67300 - Restoration Report

BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT - Vehicle 67300 was purchased by SERA in 2001 along with sister vehicle 67301. They were both driving motor vehicles converted from former 210 DEMU driving trailers and formed into 3 phase traction development unit 457 001. The history of the vehicles can be found in the 'Our Fleet' pages. When purchased they had been stored at Eastleigh works for nearly ten years and having common parts with other EMUs had been robbed quite extensively of many fittings such as; shoe gear, front end connections and lights, cab fittings internal parts from the saloon areas and much more. The plan was to restore 67300 back to condition it ran in as the traction development unit and retain 67301 for a potential project to reform a 3 car class 210 DEMU. In the event the latter project did not materialise and this rendered 67301 surplus to SERA requirements. Having donated parts to 67300 it was subsequently sold back to main line TOC and left 67300 as the only former Class 210 vehicle in preservation.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT - From the outset it was confirmed by the SERA team that 67300 would never run again, either hauled or under its own power so the restoration was to be for static display to exhibition standard, with public viewing required for both the inside as well as the exterior. The interpretation would be based around the condition the vehicle first ran in as a test unit and its former use as a 210 DEMU should be reference by a display inside the vehicle. The project has been led by SERA member Brian Thompson.

THE WORK UNDERTAKEN SO FAR:

BEFORE		AFTER
67300's interior when purchased was a complete mess with some seats removed, others disconnected and scattered over the saloons. Many of the internal panels in the ceiling had been disconnected so components for recovery could be accessed. The whole interior was coated in dirt, dust and grime from the long period of store prior to sale to SERA.		By using seats recovered from 67301 along with light covers a full interior was rebuilt, then the job of cleaning and repainting the whole area was undertaken, this was hampered when vandals broke some of the exterior windows resulting in large amounts of glass shards over the floor and seats and resulting water ingress. With hard work all was cleared up and the floor heater covers were re painted black to give an in service look. The whole interior was completed in February 2006.
67300 suffered at the hands of the vandals with many of the large body side windows were smashed by stone throwers. 67300 is visible behind in this August 2004 view.		By October of 2005 all of the smashed windows had been replaced and the bodywork cleaned. Filling work on the bodywork is also evident in preparation for a full repaint of the vehicle in 2006.
as can be seen from this split view 67300's cab had been stripped of most major components whilst at Eastleigh, items from the drivers seat to the brake gauge had been stripped out. The situation wasn't helped when someone helped themselves to the speedo that is visible in the right hand section and one of the guards door control panels from the bulkhead behind the cab. Vandals also damaged the bulkhead between the cab vestibule and saloon area.		Again, 67301 provided some replacement parts, but not many. These have been some of the hardest parts to get hold of due to the fact that many of them are still required by operators and engineers for trains currently in service. Both the missing speedo and brake gauges have been replaced and the whole cab interior has been re painted into the correct shade of grey. Slowly parts have been sourced but a few are still being sought. The door between the cab and the vestibule has also been found and refitted.

Other work undertaken:

All of the under floor equipment covers and also the bogies are cleaned off and being re painted black. SERA has now obtained parts to replace the missing shoe gear such as the radial arms, slippers and height limiting beams. These are in store and will be fitted as soon as other work on the leading bogie is completed. The front end has had both the missing headlight and marker light assembly refitted along with the 42 way jumper receptacle. The 42 way jumper on the secondman's side is being sourced. The steps either side of the front coupler have been straightened out and re painted and are to be refitted.