NHR - 2nd Generation DMU Group

07/04/2022

12/02/2022

Georgia has had a busy day reassembling the DSD pedal assembly and refitting it back to the unit. Another step forward in getting 144003 back to a reliable operational condition.

04/02/2022

03/02/22

A few more jobs tackled today first thing we set about changing the wiper motor in the DMS on the driver-side with this completed in about half an hour. Next on the list was to tackle the faulty DSD peddle in the DMSL end, what initially looked like a sticking peddle on closer inspection turns out to be quite a bit more.

Once the peddle cover had been removed we were greeted with decades of crud and corroding metal the switch it’s self was no longer attached to the peddle assembly which would explain it being faulty.

After some time cursing the whole assembly was removed stripped, cleaned and treated to a fresh coat of paint.

Reassembly will take place once we have sourced a replacement switch.

13/01/2022

Hot on the heels of the DMS vehicle being started and after an oil top up and a lot of persuasion, we had the DMSL vehicle running today. Lots of faults to attend to, but we found the cause of one of them and managed to get the brakes releasing and gaining power

09/01/2022

DMS 55826 then had its lighting and heating checked once the engine was up and running.

09/01/2022

Happy new year to all our followers!

Just a quick update to say we’ve managed to get the DMS vehicle engine started today for the first time in 6 months! A couple of small issues to be addressed with it but nothing that can’t be rectified.

13/03/2021

First update for a while due to the bare minimum of works taking place under the current situation with the dreaded virus. Work today concentrated on some of the last few areas that appear to have seen little attention for a number of years.

Particular attention has been paid today to the saloon heaters which were particularly grotty along with the continued fight with the upholstery and further cab cleaning.

The batteries haven't coped well with the cold spells over the last couple of months so with 2 new sets on order for the start systems, 2 good sets will be made out of the remaining cells to run the auxilliaries.

We are ever closer now to the point where crew training will commence with the possibility of the first services in Preservation happening towards the end of May. As always, this is not set in stone so keep an eye out for further updates here or on our website: www.144003.co.uk

Images courtesy of Tom Salt

11/01/2021

Happy New Year? As you will be aware by now, the powers that be in Downing Street have placed us in another countrywide lockdown which, amidst the current pandemic, we support wholeheartedly for the safety of everyone concerned.

Whilst we are theoretically still able to continue with limited work (a class 144 isn't something you can take home to work on) we have decided that whilst we are all in the current status quo, we will concentrate only on preventative maintenance to keep her (why are these things always female?) in clean, tidy, running order till works can resume fully again.

With a lot of luck and a possible entry into service around Easter pencilled in, we'll see you all again mid February for further updates when the current restrictions ease and that first running day for 144003 in preservation here at Ruddington gets ever closer.

In the meantime, please stay safe!

19/12/2020

No real update this week as we start to run down for xmas so.....

To all our friends and supporters, thank you for your support throught 2020 & we look forward to welcoming you to Ruddington during 2021 to see & ride on 144003 in operation.

Don't forget to visit us @ https://144003.co.uk to see what we have been doing.....

05/12/2020

Well, second lockdown over and we're catapulted back into Tier 3(!).

Nevertheless, Adrian & Tom, two of our team, have continued again today with the centre aisle which is now done (until better weather comes along allowing an industrial cleaner to be used) and started work in the cabs with attention turning in the first instance to the cab of 55826.

Both cabs have been somewhat neglected over the years as you can see from some of the Before & After photos but work will continue to make them a happier place for our crews to be.

For all the latest news updates, galleries and much more, please visit our website @ https://144003.co.uk

29/11/2020

Another day, another weekly cleaning session on 144003. Made harder due to the damp weather but still progress to be seen thanks to Adrian & Tom. Seating areas now complete along with the toilet. Next time the main aisle and cab floors leaving the final clean of the upholstery which is suffering a little at the moment due to the damp. Will it ever end?

For all these updates and more, why not visit us @ https://144003.co.uk

22/11/2020

Apologies for the lack of updates over the last few weeks but unfortunately, due to a second national lockdown due to the increasing rates of Covid-19, work has been progressing a lot slower than we would otherwise have liked.

Nevertheless, Adrian & Tom, two of our team, (on a socially distanced basis of course) have been continuing on a limited basis with the floor areas around and under the seats in those hard to reach places that would generally have been missed on a day-to-day basis. This rather inhospitable job generally involves lots of stress to the knees and whilst not quite on the scale of scrubbing with a toothbrush, not so far from it.

Hopefully, with the lockdown due to be lifted again around the 2nd of December, we should be able to make a more concerted effort in the run up to Christmas but for now, it's in the hands of t̶h̶e̶ ̶G̶o̶d̶s̶ (well, Doris & Co at least!)

For all the latest news updates, galleries and much more, please visit our website @ https://144003.co.uk

24/10/2020

Wow. We have now hit 800 likes and 841 followers. Thank you all for joining us on our journey with 144003 at Ruddington!

Glad to have you aboard. If you haven't liked or followed us yet. Why not join us on our journey.

24/10/2020

After a weekend off last week for a little R&R today saw further works on 144003 here at Ruddington.

With 2 now in self isolation, a further 2 with work commitments, 1 on grandparent duties and a training session in the bin due to the trainer being in a "Tier 3" area (cheers for that Boris & Covid), we still managed to muster a team of 3 so 2 continued apace with the interior, concentrating this time on all things glass (read window cleaning) and cleaning the toilet area as we edge ever closer to the floor and upholstery (the final 2 jobs on the interior cleaning list) and 1 person continuing on the snagging.

We now have a working toilet flush (thankfully nothing more than a stuck valve) and, with a little help from our friends at Nottingham Area Bus Society (anyone see the irony here?), a toilet door that can be opened and closed without catching on the floor meaning that you can now get in and out (although for someone of my stature, it's still a bit of a squeeze!!!)

Remember, you can find all the latest news, galleries and much more here: https://144003.co.uk

Till next week then.........

11/10/2020

A bright, sunny but not so warm day here at Ruddington saw work continuing on the internal deep clean today albeit with a considerably smaller group than usual.

With 1 in self isolation, 1 broken ( 🤣 you know who you are Adrian), 2 with work commitments and 1 engaged in a shunt move, we were down to just the 2 of us with a third arriving a little later. Nevertheless, work continued apace to the point where another couple of working days will see 144003 ready for the upholstery deep clean and following that, the floor to be renovated as best we can.

The snagging also continues with the reason for lack of hot water in the hand basin found and the lack of flush from the toilet ongoing.

Remember, you can find all the latest news, galleries and much more here: https://144003.co.uk

Same time next week then.........

03/10/2020

Well what can we say, another dreary, dismal & very wet day once again put paid to much progress on 144003.

On the plus side, due to the amount of wet stuff falling out of the sky, we now know that the unit is watertight apart from 2 areas. One being somewhere around the wiper motor on the second mans side of the cab of DMS 55803 and the other being the gangway connection. Both of these will receive attention in the near future.

The rest of the morning was spent continuing with the internal deep clean followed by a couple of hours perusing the multitude of documents provided to us by our friends at Porterbrook and Northern whilst drinking coffee before we made a cold, damp & fed up executive decision to call it a day.

With much of the same (if not worse) forecast for tomorrow it is unlikely that much progress will be made this weekend so we will return refreshed (and hopefully a little drier!!) next weekend.

Remember, you can find all the latest news, galleries and much more here: https://144003.co.uk

27/09/2020

A rather inhospitable start to the day with some rather cold and blustery weather here at Ruddington saw the decision made that continuing with the external deep clean was probably not the best thing to do.

So, with that in mind, our team continued on the internal deep clean. Good progress made but plenty more to do as you can see from the images.

A couple of before and after shots included just to show the difference being made.

21/09/2020

Wow. 743 likes and 778 followers up to now. Thank you all for joining us on our journey with 144003 at Ruddington!

Glad to have you aboard. If you haven't liked or followed us yet. Why not join us on our journey.

20/09/2020

Another successful couple of days here at Ruddington. Whilst our engineering team continued working through the "snagging" list to iron out more niggles and ensure 144003 will be fit for service.

Our presentation team started work on both the interior deep clean and the exterior removing around 34 years of built up grime that washing points just don't reach.....

13/09/2020

After a successful few days finding and fixing a fault on the fire protection circuit that was stopping one of the 2 engines from running, 144003 is now happy once again.

The next few weeks will be spent dealing with other little niggles and a full deep clean both inside and out. Following that, a program of crew training will begin enabling it to enter service during 2021 here at Ruddington.

Further images have also been added to the Preservation Gallery on our website. If you haven't seen it, why not take a look at https://144003.co.uk

11/09/2020

11/09/2020

07/09/2020

Web page for 144003 is now live.

We are proud to announce our new website is up and running at: https://144003.co.uk/

Why not pay us a visit!

07/09/2020

We are proud to announce our new website is up and running at: https://144003.co.uk/

Why not pay us a visit!

05/09/2020

03/09/2020

Look what arrived today!!

We are pleased to announce that 144003 moved to its new permanent home here at Ruddington today. Over the coming weeks/months, there will follow a period of servicing, testing, familiarisation and crew training before it commences passenger services here at Ruddington.

Huge thanks to our friends at Porterbrook, HNRC & Reid Freight for your assistance.

Images courtesy of Kieron Mark Rigby & John Akinin

29/01/2020

Although not a huge amount to report until 144003 is withdrawn and arrives at Ruddington, we thought we'd share a few more photo's sent in of 144003 while in mainline service along with a very small update.

For the GCRN 2nd Gen DMU Group, everything is in now place for transport (to get the unit to Ruddington) and a crew conversion and training program is starting to take shape so it's now a waiting game......

Images courtesy of Josh Hawkins, Andrew Wade, Andrew Washington, Steve Hurley, Josh Burnette & Ian S. If you have any images of 144003 we may share, please keep them coming either via inbox on here or by email to [email protected]

31/12/2019

As we close the book on 2019, we would like to wish all our friends and followers a very Happy & Prosperous New Year and we look forward to welcoming you to Ruddington during 2020 with 144003.

Original image courtesy of Andrew Wade

24/12/2019

We would like to wish all our friends and followers a very Happy Christmas from all here at the GCR(N) 2nd Generation DMU Group.

We look forward to a prosperous new year and welcoming you all to see us and 144003 here at Ruddington during 2020.

Original image courtesy of Jack Needham

18/12/2019

A few days ago, we asked you to send us images of 144003 on mainline duties that we may share with our followers. This is a selection of those sent so far.

Credits to: , , & on Twitter. Thomas Walker, George Hant, Matthew Wright, Scott Clarkson, Ewa Bargielowski, Simon Coult & Phil Barraclough on Facebook.

Please keep them coming in.

14/12/2019

Wow!! Over 400 likes & follows in less than a week!

Until we have a transfer date, this page is likely to remain quite quiet but please stay following us for further updates as we get nearer to the arrival of 144003 here at Ruddington.

Seeing as it's nearly Christmas, why not a slightly more festive image. Once again, courtesy of Jack Needham & taken at Thorne South.

If anyone has any photos of 144003 they would like to share that we may use, please feel free to post them on our page or send via message.

10/12/2019

Class 144 Railcar – 144003 to be preserved at the Great Central Railway (Nottingham)

GCR(N) are pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with Porterbrook for Class 144 DMU Railcar 144003 to become preserved for Heritage Operation from our Ruddington base once released from mainline duties.

Full release can be found here: http://gcrn.co.uk/news/144003

03/12/2019

144003 on the mainline before transfer to GCRN. Photos courtesy of Jack Needham.