Riding Rare Railbus AC W79978 Kemble to Swindon S&CR

AC W79978 Railbus Tetbury to Kemble S&CR Railway clips
Full ride on the line version below
• Riding Rare Railbus AC...
The 60th anniversary for
the closure of the Kemble to Tetbury &
Cirencester Branchlines back in April 1964
To represent this the running of resident
Railbus W79978 (which was a regular performer
on the two branches) and renaming two
stations to become Kemble and Tetbury
An exhibition and film shows will also be held in
the marquee at Blunsdon.
Preservation Information---------------------------------------------
Withdrawn in February 1968 after a short and unsuccessful BR career, 79978 has been the most fortunate of the three AC Cars Railbuses originally preserved, and the only one to carry passengers in preservation.
Originally purchased in 1968 for use on the embryonic North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the vehicle arrived there fully operational under its own power from Grangemouth to Grosmont, staging overnight at Gosforth Car Sheds.
79978 worked passenger services for some time being named "Premier", before being deemed too small. When it was put up for sale, a group of K&WVR members put in a bid for it, although they were not successful. Whilst at the NYMR, the vehicle was repainted into LNER "Tourist" Green/Cream with half yellow warning panels during the early 1970's.
79978 was sold to the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 1979, moving there the following year having lost its yellow panels from the front. Relatively little is known about the vehicle during its time there, though it did see service before moving on again in 1984.
The vehicle was puchased by the Colne Valley Railway Company, headed by Dick Hymas, and relocated to theColne Valley Railway where it continued to provide good service. It was quickly painted back into a more authentic BR green with whiskers shortly after arrival. 79978 was to spend a very long time at Colne Valley and did give good service in the 1980's & 1990's. However its condition had been steadily worsening and it would not be much longer before problems started to arise.
In 2004, 79978 visited theSevern Valley Railway as part of the Railcar50 celebrations. Although intended for use on Kidderminster-Bewdley shuttles, the vehicle sadly did not see any passenger service during the visit due to major problems with the air braking system. This highlighted the, by now, poor condition the vehicle had slipped into.
After returning home from the event 79978 was never repaired and instead put on display (essentially in storage) pending repairs. Sadly these were not forthcoming and the vehicle remained out of service for many years.
In November 2016, following a great deal of change at the Colne Valley Railway, 79978 was sold from its original owners to the Colne Valley Railway Preservation Society, a registered charity, who had bought the site and many of the "original" railway's assets. Sadly however, this move from private to society ownership made no change to the vehicle's stored status or future prospects.
Eventually, in November 2019, 79978 was finally sold and relocated to the Swindon & Cricklade Railway again under private ownership.
The first 12 months saw the engine started for the first time in many years but 79978 was then returned to store.
2022 saw restoration work start in earnest after the Covid-19 pandemic. Work concentrated on mechanicals and air systems and by June the vehicle was moving up and down capable of undertaking demonstration runs. The following year some seat upholstery had been undertaken on selected seats.
As part of the "rolling restoration" 79978 carried passengers for the first time properly in many years when it ran shuttles on the line's extension during their diesel gala in September 2023. It was acknowledged that the vehicle was mid restoration and playfully advertised that the "passenger experience would be reduced"! The runs however were much applauded by enthusiasts who could see the propgres being made on the vehicle.My name is Sean and I film all sorts i have around 3 million views
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