The Mid Norfolk Railway has announced that a second Pacer has arrived at Dereham station to join the growing fleet of heritage DMUs.
Pacer 142061 has been delivered by Rail Support Services Ltd from Gascoigne Wood Sidings near Selby, where it has been stored since being withdrawn by Northern.
142061 has now joined 142038 at the Mid Norfolk Railway and are now planned to enter service during 2021.
The plan is for both Pacers to be refurbished, with one of them returning into original Regional Railways livery, which was used when Pacers first entered service back in the 1980s.
Charlie Robinson, the Chairman of the railway said: “The acquisition of Pacers by the railway is important, as they join our first generation of Diesel Multiple Units and mean that we are assembling an important collection of this oft forgotten aspect of our railway heritage.”
He added: “Pacers have had in some quarters a controversial past, often being described as noisy and uncomfortable, but that you must remember was when they travelled at 70mph on the national network. Here they will be travelling at much slower speeds and will be an excellent way to travel on our line and enjoy our beautifully Norfolk country side views.”
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Steam locos.
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First generation units.
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Standard gauge.
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The MNR really is a diverse route that provides something for pretty much everyone.
Wonderful to see the Class 142 Pacers to be used on the Mid Norfolk Railway.
Could the North Norfolk Railway do the same thing and inherit few redundant Pacers.
I doubt it, seeing as they couldn’t maintain LEV1 and even got rid of most of their diesel locos – and a Pacer doesn’t really fit their profile, does it?
However, I’m sure that they could buy one, just like any other line, if they wanted one.
Is it me, or i fell in love with these Pacers?
Well I Never… This is Definitely Another let alone Latest Highlight within UK Preservation.
The Marvellously Well-Preserved Mid-Norfolk Railway now has not 1, but 2 ex-British Rail Pacers, as part of it’s own forever expansive fleet of DMU/Railcars & Other Rolling Stock in-between.
Let’s Hope both these 2 Pacers Do Much Better on this Heritage Railway, As soon as they’re Renovated, Restored to Original Classic BR Colours & to Help keep the MNR Up & Running Too.
There’s in-fact, so far, An Excellent Current Total of 18 Class 142 Pacer Units Entering A Fresh New Lease-Of-Life within Preservation.