Birmingham RailCar Workgroup

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Birmingham RailCar Workgroup We are a group responsible for the restoration, operation & maintenance of twelve 1950's Class 104 D

This page is a Social Media presence for the Birmingham RailCar Workgroup who are responsible for all the Class 104 Diesel Multiple Units that survive in preservation. Expect to see restoration progress, plus links to our website with fresh updates and news. Nostalgic views of Class 104's back when they worked for British Railways will also be included.

The renewed metalwork on the driver's side of the middle saloon on M50479 has now been fully painted up in white gloss a...
11/10/2026

The renewed metalwork on the driver's side of the middle saloon on M50479 has now been fully painted up in white gloss and black bitumen as appropriate. The inside is now ready for the winter weather.

A great deal of time and effort has been spent recently on getting M50479's middle section externally completed before t...
30/09/2026

A great deal of time and effort has been spent recently on getting M50479's middle section externally completed before the autumnal and winter damp sets in. The remaining window gripping bars on the drivers side have been dry fitted and all the studs to hold them welded into place. The two coolant header tank filler cones have also been test mounted on their studs and relevant holes cut into the replaced bodysides. All of this brought to an end the "hot work" on the new bodysides, meaning it's been time to get the body filler and sander out to fully prep both sides smooth. This has now been finished and a final coat of grey primer applied over the new surface. We are very pleased to achieve this just at the point of turning into October. We will now continue with further coats of paint to seal the area properly so we are fully winter ready.

Today was exam day for M56182 which was receiving its third annual exam as part of the national 7-year cycle. All was su...
20/09/2026

Today was exam day for M56182 which was receiving its third annual exam as part of the national 7-year cycle. All was successful and a few other deferred tasks were also carried out to ready the vehicle for its final stint of operation for this season in October. A repaired heater has been fitted to one side so we will at least enter the cold season with two of two working... 🤞

Bodywork continues on M50479, with the welding of the skin now completed on this side of the mid saloon and all the weld...
13/09/2026

Bodywork continues on M50479, with the welding of the skin now completed on this side of the mid saloon and all the welds ground back flush. It has been given a protective coat of primer in case it turns damp whilst we are working on the windows. On the rear face, all of the stiffening ribs have also been welded in place.

Three years ago today, unique 104 trailer car M56182 carried passengers in preservation for the first time and what a da...
09/09/2026

Three years ago today, unique 104 trailer car M56182 carried passengers in preservation for the first time and what a day it was! We are pleased to say that agreement has been reached for a brief exterior refresh to be conducted at Easter 2027, so all being well after a few years of accumulating road dirt, the vehicle's shine will be reinvigorated ready for next season.

Following a four month pause, the major restoration of M50479 has resumed. We have picked up where we left off on the dr...
05/09/2026

Following a four month pause, the major restoration of M50479 has resumed. We have picked up where we left off on the driver's side of the mid saloon, with replacement body skin now attached to the (previously repaired) framework, and the original metal in the upper half stripped back to bare. There are still more welds, window studs and stiffening bars still to tackle, but this side is nevertheless visually transformed. Meanwhile on the interior, areas of flooring requiring replacement have been marked up and the No2 engine coolant header tank removed to allow flooring replacement around it. There should be more regular updates on 479 forthcoming now that the team is back on the project 👍

Component recovery of M53447 has been progressing very actively over the past few months with no stones left unturned. T...
09/08/2026

Component recovery of M53447 has been progressing very actively over the past few months with no stones left unturned. The underframe and mechanical stripping has now been completed and the interior gutted, we estimate that approximately 75% of the overall process has been completed. We now turn to the final phase which is the exterior strip, with the cab and corridor ends already started and body side items such as doors, windows, gutters etc. still to remove. Needless to say, a huge number of components have been generated for future 104 preservation.

Although the Renaissance Railcars team continues to work on M50454 and M50528 at Loughborough, unfortunately despite bes...
14/07/2026

Although the Renaissance Railcars team continues to work on M50454 and M50528 at Loughborough, unfortunately despite best hopes and endeavours the set will not be able to appear at this Friday's DMU day on the GCR. Whilst this is disappointing, it's important that the set is fit for service before being allowed onto traffic. It's been a case of whilst undertaking jobs required to return the set to service, that in itself has revealed more unexpected work needing to be undertaken....

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The night out versus the morning after?? Restored M56182 goes face to face with M50447 at Weybourne.
04/07/2026

The night out versus the morning after?? Restored M56182 goes face to face with M50447 at Weybourne.

M56182 looking right at home last week between Weybourne and Sheringham during the heatwave.(Photo by Glen Batten)
30/06/2026

M56182 looking right at home last week between Weybourne and Sheringham during the heatwave.

(Photo by Glen Batten)

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Bury
BL90EY

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