The 125 Group is a railway heritage group in England dedicated to the preservation of the
s.
The 125 Group was founded in 1994 at a time when the InterCity 125 remained in daily use and under no threat of withdrawal. In 2006 it purchased 10
Paxman Valenta
The Paxman Valenta was an engine made by Paxman, Colchester for the High Speed Train, and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the ''Upholder''/''Victoria''-class submarines, additionally 4 Paxman Valenta engines provide the ...
engines when the majority of the
Class 43 powercars were repowered with a view to restoring some to original condition when withdrawn.
In 2011, it reached an agreement with the
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...
to become the custodian of
Class 41 prototype powercar 41001 and restore it to operational condition at
Neville Hill TMD
Neville Hill is a railway train maintenance depot in Osmondthorpe, Leeds, England on the Leeds to Selby Line. The depot is situated to the east of Leeds railway station on the north side of the line.
The TOPS depot code is NL.
History
In ...
. This work was completed in 2014, with 41001 based at the
Nottingham Heritage Railway
The Nottingham Heritage Railway (formerly known as Great Central Railway (Nottingham) and Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre) is a heritage railway and transport museum on the south side of the village of Ruddington in Nottinghamshire. The ...
.
The 125 Group purchased a number of
Mark 3
Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with scribes and a meeting of Jesus with h ...
carriages to operate with it. These were Mark 3B variants that were compatible with 41001's electrical system and had last been operated by
Virgin Trains West Coast
Virgin Trains (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from ...
with
Class 87 and
Class 90 electric locomotives. In 2020 these were sold replaced by ex HST Mark 3s, three from
East Midlands Railway
Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.
History
In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...
and one ex
First Great Western
Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
.
During 2019, the National Railway Museum terminated the lease of 41001. Upon being withdrawn in 2020, former East Midlands Railway Class 43 powercars 43048 and 43089 were donated by
Porterbrook
Porterbrook is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO), created as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Together with Angel Trains and Eversholt Rail Group, it is one of the three original ROSCOs.
Porterbrook was established in March 199 ...
to the 125 Group. In 2021, the group purchased a third powercar, 43044, from Porterbrook. It is planned to replace its
Paxman VP185
The Paxman VP185 is an engine manufactured by Paxman, Colchester. It is used in marine and railway applications and available as both a V12 and V18.
History
The VP185 was launched in May 1993 as a successor to the Paxman Valenta. It differed fr ...
engine with a Paxman Valenta. In June 2021, Porterbrook donated a fourth powercar, 43159, that was involved in the record-breaking 148 mph run on the
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
in 1987. With this former First Great Western power car having a
MTU engine, the group has examples of all three engine types used by the Class 43s.
[HST record-breaker moves to 125 Group ''Rail'' issue 934 June 2021 page 22]
References
{{Reflist
Rail transport preservation in the United Kingdom
1994 establishments in England