Q16.02 – Cravens DMU Class 105 MBS E50249
Q16.02. Cravens DMU Class 105 MBS E50249.
In the 1970s, at least, E50249 was running in a four car unit. Cravens produced two and three car units for BR but not any four car units.
The RCTS Coaching Stock of British Railways 1978 gives E50249 as stored and it was withdrawn in April 1978.
What was the history of the vehicle and how did it become detached from other Cravens stock? (George Palin:16977)
Answer
At Hexham just before midday on 1st July 1957 a four car Metro-Cammell DMU which had arrived from Newcastle, and fortunately had been emptied of passengers, was run into by K1 2-6-0 62029 on a 35 wagon coal train. The rear car E50173 of the nearly-new DMU, was very badly damaged and forced up through the platform awning, its fuel tank exploding. This resulted in the remains of E50173 being scrapped at Darlington works at the end of 1957, but 62029 survived.
The quad set 50172/59060/59073/50173 had only entered service in January 1957 and the quickest way to source a replacement was to take the first of the Class 105 cars that Cravens was building using the completed car 50752 renumbered 50249 which entered service in September 1957. Cravens ‘stepped-down’ the numbers and, built an extra car at the end of the order, so that 50249 entered service at the same time as their 50752 (intended to be 50753).
50249, which in later years was used in different ad-hoc sets, was an early casualty being withdrawn in April 1978 and scrapped at King’s of Snailwell in June. The remaining original three cars of the set lasted in service another ten years.
(Tom Bowman:8750, Stephen Abbott:9149, Mike Addison:11992)