GRCW BUILT CLASS 100 DRIVING TRAILER COMPOSITE IN PRESERVATION

A Class 100 twin-car diesel mechanical multiple unit as delivered to British Railways in 1958 by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited.

Gloucester Class 100 Driving Trailer Composite 56317 has been at a private site near Colchester but has been moved so that some restoration can take place. Withdrawn from main line service as long ago as 1975, the coach spent 19 years at the Gwilli Railway before moving on to the Swindon and Cricklade in 1994. It moved to Long Marston in 1996, then to Rochford, Essex, in 1998 and the South Midland Project at Dunstable in 2001 before finally going in to private store two years later. The vehicle is in poor condition but is substatially complete but has had some distinctly non-standard panels welded to the front end.

Built in 1958, the trailer was one of 40 of its class built by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company to a semi-integral design. Only three trailers now survive, the other two being 56097, which is awaiting restoration at the Midland Railway, Butterley and 56301 which is in static use at the Mid Norfolk Railway.

The Great Yeldham Transport Museum is run by the North Essex Transport Group and houses a small number of railway vehicles including a Lynton and Barnstaple coach as well as buses and other transport artefacts.