RAILCAR ‘IRIS’ VISITS LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY – 17/18 May 2008
An historic diesel railcar known as IRIS has arrived at the Llangollen Railway to
play a starring role in next weekend’s Railcar Gala on the Dee Valley line.
And the Llangollen Railway is looking for a real Iris to come to the railway to meet
up with their name sake.
Llangollen Railway’s Commercial Manager, Mrs Jules Roberts, said, “We should be pleased
to arrange for anyone named Iris to take a free ride on board our visiting star attraction
during this Railcar event. If your name is Iris come along to the Llangollen booking
office in time for the 11.25am departure on Saturday, 17 May.”
The unique single-car Iris is one of only two single cars built in 1954 at Derby
to an original lightweight design and is currently the oldest operational first-generation
unit in the UK. In passenger service until 1961, the rail car survived as Test Coach
IRIS for the Railway Technical Centre at Derby, where it took part in various experimental
trials. It was recently extensively restored at the Midland Railway Centre, Butterley
to reconvert it to passenger use and is currently based at the Ecclesbourne Valley
Railway, Wirksworth, Derbyshire.
It will join the Llangollen Railway’s fleet of four resident railcar units, including
the award-winning Wickham railcar – itself also unique – and the steam “auto-train”
for the weekend special event.
The Gala will start at 9.30 am on Saturday May 17th and finish at 6.00pm on Sunday.
With 16 departures on the Saturday and 15 on the Sunday, the services will provide
one of the most intensive timetables ever to be operated by the Railway with a near
half hourly service throughout the day. Different units will also be worked in multiple
with each other meaning that there will be many combinations of trains throughout
the weekend.
Llangollen Railcar Group Chairman, Evan Green-Hughes said, "We are delighted to be
able to welcome Iris to Llangollen for our gala weekend. She is the oldest diesel
railcar in service on a heritage railway and was the first in which passengers can
actually look over the driver's shoulder and see the line ahead, a popular feature.
She was one of the first of over 4,000 railcars which revolutionised travel on the
UK's railways over 50 years ago. It is fitting that she should be operating at Llangollen
alongside a steam engine as this is how she would have been seen for the first 14
years of her life."
George Jones, spokesman for Llangollen Railway, said, “This event will show how the
line between Ruabon and Barmouth might have been operated from the mid 1960s had
the stations been rationalised and diesel units introduced in order to reduce costs.
Sadly, The Beeching Axe fell on the through route before this initiative could be
tried and in British Railways’ days the diesel units only ran with excursion traffic
through to the Cambrian coast.
The Gala will provide an interesting comparison between the branch line auto-coach
train of the steam era and the railcars of the modernisation era. We expect it to
attract rail fans from a wide area to sample riding in the railcars, and experience
the extensive operating pattern, as a reminder of how things used to be prior to
privatisation of the railways.”
The photos below show the railcar as delivered to Llangollen now restored to the
British Railway’s 1950s green livery and trainee driver Elizabeth Harland, acting
as guard, about to give the green flag for the ‘right away’.
Railcars, which later became known as Diesel Multiple Units, were introduced progressively
from 1954 and are credited with saving many lines from closure due to their low running
costs and appeal to the travelling public.
One of their best-remembered features was the ability to watch the line ahead through
the large picture windows fitted to the rear of the driver’s cab. Withdrawal of such
trains began in 1964, with the majority being taken out of service between 1984 and
1995.
Llangollen has vehicles built by four different manufacturers, of five different
types and of three different construction methods and is regarded as one of the leading
sites for railcar preservation in the country.
