Restoration of DEMU TOPS 205001 "Thumper"

May/June 2009

Josh Watkins whose experience and maturity belie his age of just 16 and Steve Smith one of the railways new volunteers with a wealth of experience honed at the Sittingbourne and Kemsley railway have begun the enormous task of restoring the much loved diesel multiple unit DEMU 205 known throughout the railway as "Thumper". Built at the Eastleigh works in 1957 the unit was aquired by the EKR from Porterbrook leasing in 2005 having previously served on the London Bridge to Uckfield line. This unit made several passenger carrying trips on the EKR during the summer of that year before a clutch fan breakdown forced it from service.Since then Thumper has sadly remained on one of the sidings and as with all of the railways rolling stock has suffered from the effects of nature, inevitable until covered accommodation can once again be re-instated at Shepherdswell.

Now though in 2009 the future is looking altogether brighter for this great workhorse . Josh and Steve have started the painstaking task of rubbing down the roof,sides and underchasis, treating the rust,bodywork filling and repainting to cosmetically bring this unit back to life.The clutch fan problem will be assessed and remedied as time and money permit and with the rate of progress from Josh and Steve , it is hoped Thumper will return to active service in 2010 providing much needed backup to the class 101 DMU , as the railways other chief workhorse the 09 diesel is due to be sent off for repairs and overhaul at the end of the 2009 season. It will also add extra variety for passengers and enthusiasts and compliment the slow but determined restoration and return back to service of all of the EKRs loco stock such as 427 and Richborough Castle.

Below are a series of pictures supplied by Josh showing the first stages of restoration with regular updates to follow as the work progresses - well done to Josh and Steve

The Huge Job of scraping down the roof begins

The first coat of red oxide is applied