125 Group

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The 125 Group is a railway heritage group in England dedicated to the preservation of the InterCity 125s.

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 engines when the majority of the Class 43 powercars were repowered with a view to restoring some to original condition when withdrawn.[1]

In 2011, it reached an agreement with the National Railway Museum to become the custodian of Class 41 prototype powercar 41001 and restore it to operational condition at Neville Hill TMD.[2] This work was completed in 2014, with 41001 based at the Great Central Railway (Nottingham).[3] The 125 Group purchased a number of Mark 3 carriages to operate with it.[4]

In 2019, the National Railway Museum terminated the lease of 41001.[5] Upon their withdrawal in early 2020, former East Midlands Railway Class 43 powercars 43048 and 43089 will be donated by Porterbrook to the 125 Group.[6][7]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Preservation Progress 125 Group 20 April 2008
  2. Prototype HST to run again The Railway Magazine issue 1323 July 2011 page 11
  3. Prototype HST power car returns to service The Railway Magazine issue 1365 December 2014 page 9
  4. 125 Group adds to Mk 3 collection Rail issue 859 15 August 2018 page 28
  5. NRM takes prototype HST power car back after serious breaches Heritage Railway issue 260 25 October 2019 page 29
  6. Historic HST power cars donated to 125 Group Porterbrook 14 October 2019
  7. Porterbrook donates power cars to 125 Group Rail Express issue 283 December 2019 page 78