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Preserving Yesterday For Tomorrow


Class 105 - DTC - 56456

BR History

Class 105

Seen in later BR days at Croston on August 13 1983 56456 is working the 1615 Ormskirk to Preston service. Photo By Martyn Hilbert

This car was built by Cravens of Sheffield in 1958 as part of lot number 30470, diagram number 533 and is one of only two of its type to have survived.

Cravens built 405 railcars in two and three car sets to a design which broadly mirrored the then standard Mark One coach. The two-door per side design was intended for rural work and some of the sets were despatched to parts of the country just in time for the lines for which they were intended to be closed down by Dr Beeching.

Many of the class were originally built for use in East Anglia but were soon displaced because of line closures. 56456 was delivered new to Cambridge Shed (31A), along with power car 51298 and entered service in January 1959. Due to closures it had moved on to Lincoln (40A) by 1962 but was moved to Finsbury Park (34G) by 1965 and used for suburban duties out of King's Cross in London for which duties it was particularly unsuited. It eventually was moved on to the North West and was eventually withdrawn from Newton Heath Depot (26A) in Manchester in 1984.