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457 Restoration Blog

Updated September 2024

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 plan was to restore 67300 back to condition it ran in as the traction development unit in the late 1980s until 1991. The restoration was to be for static display to exhibition standard, with public viewing required for both the inside as well as the exterior.

Two vehicles arrived at Coventry in 2000, 67300 and 67301. Both were inspected and the decision was taken to restore 67300 as a 457 and retain 67301 for a possible project to reform a 210 DEMU. In the event the 210 project failed to get support and 67301 was sold back to a rolling stock leasing company. It has since been returned to the main line as part of a class 455 unit.

Here are some pictures of the units when they first arrived.

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EARLY RESTORATION

Initial work succeeded in cleaning the interior up, replacing all the missing seating, washing the seat coverings and refreshing the driving cab, including obtaining some of the parts that had been removed from it. The project was hampered when vandals got into the vehicle twice, once in 2004 and again in 2006. Both attacks resulted in nearly all of the exterior windows being smashed leaving large amounts of glass shards over the floor and seats and resulting in damage through water ingress. They also broke through the bulkhead partition between the saloon and the cab vestibule. In addition the vehicle was daubed with graffiti leaving it in a worse state than when it was acquired. Disheartened by this worked stopped unit site security was improved.

By 2008 the site was more secure and now the Electric Railway Museum. Slowly the restoration of the vehicle was picked up again.

RESTORATION 2008 - 2018

Work slowly restarted and picked up pace, a long list of tasks were completed inside the vehicle enabling it to be opened to visitors at Electric Railway Museum open days from 2013. These jobs were:

• Replacement of all the bodyside windows, this involved obtaining both spare panes from a redundant vehicle and having old frames re-glazed with new double skin panes.
  
  
• Replacement of sections of the floor in both the cab and saloon areas.
  
  
• Manufacturing new covers for the internal equipment and electrical cupboards to replace those that have been long lost prior to preservation.
  
  
• Sourcing and re-fitting numerous missing components such as the headlight, marker lights, cab to cab handset, chrome upright poles, glass draft screens and door open/close push buttons.
  
  
• Repainting of cab and saloon areas.
  
  
• Repainting of the bogies and underfloor electrical equipment cases, including having new labels made.
  
  
• Reconstruction of the cab vestibule bulkhead which involved sourcing the correct shade of Formica.
  
  
• Refitting of the shoebeams and front end electrical connections and exterior handrails.
  

In order for the vehicle to be used for two filming projects, a film called 'The Beacon' and a documentary for National Geographic, Seconds From Disaster the internal saloon lighting was configured to work from a shore supply. In due course the cab and front end lighting was reconnected so the whole vehicle could be illuminated.

The Repaint 2017/2018

Repainting of the vehicle had to be undertaken out in the open due to the lack of covered accommodation at Coventry, sporadic efforts had been made over the previous years but in 2017 a concerted effort was made to get the whole vehicle repaint completed. This was completed on one side for the final ERM open day in October 2017 and the remainder of the vehicle was finished during the spring of 2018 when the weather permitted. All that was left to do was fit some tables in the seating bays; these were not an original feature but were requested by the new hosts at the East Kent Railway to enable the vehicle to be used for visitors to have cafe refreshments, parties and cream teas inside the vehicle. The tables had to be non intrusive and require no alterations to the original structure of the interior. A design was made that allowed the tables to be secured to the walls by bolts in an existing runner with a pair of legs on the other end to provide stability. The tables were made of 2x1 timber and ply wood and covered in an easy to clean blue vinyl.

After nearly two decades the vehicle was complete and looked magnificent when winched aboard a trailer for the journey to Kent and movement to Eythorne. As pictured below.

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UPKEEP & REPAIR 2019 - 2023

Even when a vehicle is restored it still has needs to be maintained on a rolling cycle and the 457 is no different. Following its first season on display at the East Kent Railway a number of tasks were identified to keep it in good condition. The floor in both the cab and leading door pocket had taken a lot of footfall and needed to be renewed. The volunteer team made a start in the Autumn of 2019 and removed the lino, which was still able to be re-used and kept. The floor boards in these areas had suffered a lot of water damage and were wasted. New hard wearing marine ply was sourced and cut to shape, being treated and mounted on thin rubber shims to act as shock absorbers. The door pocket was completed in December 2019 with work on the cab advanced but worked slowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By July 2020 the floor in both the leading saloon doors and cab vestibule had been fully repaired and restored. Over the next few months additional items were fitted in the cab, including the horn control, on train communications buttons and the roller blind above the drivers window so the vehicle could show a destination. This was a correct BR style one with black lettering on white. The vehicle was also relocated to Sheperdswell and turned around so it now faced towards Eythorne. It has a new permanent home on the buffer stops of the back siding at the station and will be on prominent display to visitors with the intention of it being open to the public during running days in due course.

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The front end gained its last missing component in June 2022 when the multiple working jumper was re-fitted. This was of the correct type and had been recovered from a scrap class 455 unit. Additional fittings to be sourced and fitted to the coach were the secondman's seat, a handle for the internal cab door and two minature circuit breakers from the cab bulkhead. The tables fitted in the saloon were no longer needed so have been removed.

REPAINT & REPAIR 2024

The floor of the vehicle needed further attention on the non driving side in the centre of the saloon section and this was replaced with new marine ply and the same was done for the rear passenger door space with the floor totally replaced. In both cases it was possible to salvage the origina Lino, which dates back to the days when the car was part of 210 001.

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The 20+ year treasure hunt to replace the many missing interior components that were stripped out during the vehicles period in store at Eastleigh prior to sale for preservation reached a near conclusion when pass-comm chains and switches, along with emergency egress valves were sourced from scrap class 313 units. We are grateful to Arlington Fleet Services for allowing us the chance to obtain these. We also obtained a correct pattern driver's sun visor. Now all of these are fitted the interior is 99 percent complete.

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After seven years of display out in the open it was time to repaint the body of the vehicle. This had to be done in time for the vehicle to be part of a line up of preserved EMU cars at the East Kent Railway for the Kent Coast Electrification 65th Anniversary event. Working out in the open (as usual) and having to contend with weather best described as 'changeable' the team prepared the vehicle by giving it a thorough jet wash and then rubbing the 2017 paintwork back to provide a good keying surface. Donations from the public ensured new NSE paint could be purchased along with rolls of masking tape, paint brushes, thinners and the requisite transfers for the logos and numbers, that had to be renewed as the previously applied ones were very tired looking. Literally the day before the event the last paint was applied, the interior and exterior lighting was fired up to test it all still worked fine and the 457 was one of the stars of the event.

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A week after the event ownership of the car was transferred to The Heritage Electric Trains Trust. This is a UK based charity that promotes the preservation and display of classic electric railway vehicles. The vehicle was previously owned by consortium of shareholders with no formal governance and they agreed that for a secure future for the vehicle, becoming the property of a registered charity was the best way forward. The vehicle will continue to be looked after by the SERA Team Kent workforce.

There is still a few tasks that remain to be done, along with roling maintanence. The missing steps from the side of the lead bogie that gave access to the cab on the driver's side have now been sourced and will be fitted soon. Some re-trim of the interior is also planned along with the hunt to replace the last two missing buttons from inside the cab that are proving elusive. The East Kent Railway are keen to develop the area the car sits in so that it is more accessible to visitors and the interior can be opened up. Watch out for updates on this over the next twelve months.