It’s once again that time of year to sit down and reflect, with 2023 over and done. Happy new year to all of our followers and supporters. I will start by rounding up the year's events, before giving a brief update of the current status of 624 and looking forward to 2024.
2023, Has been yet another challenging year for the group. We have been faced with setback upon setback to the point that many would have thrown the towel in and walked away. It's certainly at times come close to this point, but myself, our benefactor and our members have remained committed to ensuring the survival of this EMU at all costs.
Some of these things below have again been challenging to write, with the voices of doubters and naysayers often creeping in. I want to take time again to thank those who have been there in a personal capacity this year to keep me going. You know who you are.
The year started off strong again in January. It was finally the Diamond Jubilee proper, with 624 turning 60 a month prior and the official entry into traffic date being 7th January 1963. We managed to negotiate a free space to hold a 309 exhibition at the East Anglian Railway Museum over this year showcasing a large gathering of 309 related artefacts. We are incredibly pleased with feedback received and want to thank anyone who came to visit and to the EARM for hosting this.
Unfortunately, due to many factors outside our control, our benefactor felt he had to give the notice to step back he did in February. This was obviously a stressful time however we continued, undeterred, on both options to home 624 and restoration work on the vehicles themselves.
Also behind the scenes, after the success of the 315 Farewell in December 2022 we began working with the wonderful folk at the Branch Line Society to begin to plan a similar event for the 321s. These, being the successors to 309s and now the last "legacy" units in East Anglia meant a lot to the group, and we wanted to see them off in style.
These plans came to light in early march and a date was set. It was around this point work behind the scenes was reaching a critical point with our other project, the 321. I'm going to take some give a bit more of the context and story of this project now the dust has settled.
All the way back in January 2021, We were looking at sites for the 309 that were not pre existing heritage railways. The hope, was to find a small yard somewhere in East Anglia that we could obtain a lease for or that we could work with the existing landowners to store the 309 on a rental agreement.
Ultimately, we were approached by a site in Harwich who wanted to help and give our 309 a home. We wanted to jump at the chance, but sadly a few obstacles stood in the way. One of the biggest was the proposed use case for the vehicles. The site owners desperately needed catering facilities for their proposed community café and stipulated the 309 could only be brought to site if we allowed the gutting of the interior. This is something we could not stand for considering the immaculate internal condition of the set. we were asked to come up with suggestions for alternative vehicles. This is where the 321 idea was born.
The deal was if we could do the legwork, secure a 321 for conversion to a community café, and upkeep the vehicles, we could bring the 309 alongside, with no modification requirements. To us, it was a win win deal, not only gaining a secure home for the 309, but also preserving the next generation of EMU which also served a use with any proceeds form the café agreed to be reinvested in not only the 321 but also the 309.
The project was sensible, with a logical business case and those involved in the negotiations could see this. things ran smoothly for a few months, and a Unit was chosen, 322483. This was deemed to be the best of both worlds, an original "un-refurbished" unit that had modern PRM-TSI accessible toilets. 483 was the best condition out of the 5 Ex-Stanstead units and by July 2022 the deal was set.
Again however, luck was not on our side, and, land that we had been promised would be made available by the tight deadlines was sadly not, still tied up in complicated lease agreements. Unfortunately, that meant we had to let 322483 go and that unit got sent to scrap soon after.
However, we persevered and found a new unit to pursue, now 321440, chosen, as it had incredibly low mileage and was in the best condition. We had been assured leases could be agreed by next spring so it was a case of now waiting, in the meantime we approached Network Rail and agreed a donation of some track to house the unit upon.
Fast forward back to 2023, and things looked to be on the home straight. The 321 farewell railtour plans were coming together and it was agreed that our acquisition of the unit would be announced on the tour, as a little exclusive.
And so to the 321 Farewell Itself, the 29th April 2023. What a day. We had indeed gone all out for this, commissioning artwork from Vincent Pink, Partnering with Transport Badges and Shed No.2 to raise as much money as possible for the upcoming 321 move. The day thankfully went without a hitch, having support from Greater Anglia themselves we ran a large sales stand which almost completely sold out. Appropriately, the announcement of the 321 project was made just as we departed Harwich Town, its future home alongside. The main social media announcement went out soon after.
Unfortunately, yet again, it seems nothing fully could go our way. Not two weeks after the public launch of the project we had been notified that the land leasing negotiations had not gone in the Harwich group's favour, and their lease was to be cut from over 35,000 Sqft to just 3,600. This spelt doom for the project, with the 309 loosing its space and even the 321's now in the air. we did everything to still secure the 321 a safe home by negotiating alternative site arrangements and attempting discussions with the original landowners, but, alas, it was not to be. We had been completely let down and at that point all we could do was step back and cancel the project, loosing perhaps one of the only chances to preserve a complete Mk3 EMU, and now back to the drawing board to look for yet more options for the 309.
So, it was back to negotiations with heritage lines, but after several more were not successful, and the storage contact running out, it was time for our benefactor to again review what we could realistically do moving forward.
A brief light spot in these months was a silver lining from the cancellation of the 321 project. We finally could complete the required welding works and seal up the brake system on the 309. The unit now, to the best of our knowledge, has a complete air system and is just waiting for a test.
Then come October, our time was up. The 18 month storage agreement we had made with the Lavender line had finished and no new agreement could be reached. We are still in the 6 month run off period, but the future is still very uncertain.
So, a look forward to 2024. Obviously the situation with the group does look bleak. Since putting out the post in October, we did gain some new leads in which to negotiate for new homes. Sadly many options were not viable for one reason or another, but we have had a few shortlisted and have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get a deal finalised. What the future holds we do not know. We are going to try our best to find places for all 3 vehicles, but we do also have to stay realistic.
Many people in preservation say how something "should be saved" but often lack sensible, actionable plans to do so. Finding a new home for this unit has now spanned almost 2 and a half years. Myself, the benefactor and other members of the team have spent countless hours searching for homes and engaging in negotiations. There comes a point, we will have done all we can for this unit and, as said in October, have no choice but to send it for disposal. Its a point that nobody wants to see happen, but if it does, then we can at least sit back and say without hesitation, we did our best to try and give the unit a future.
We wish all our followers a very happy new year, and hope that there is light at the end of this tunnel and we can continue to preserve this much loved unit and prove that it has a future.
Brad W.
Chairman, CEPG.
📸 Trevor Stone
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