975386 Lab 4
Departmental Units
Over the years a number of DEMU vehicles have been converted for departmental use, the most common conversion was Sandite but there have been very interesting conversions including an APT research vehicle.
Click on each photo for info about that particular unit
Another vehicle which had an amazing history after becoming and internal user vehicle is 60750
or as it is better known 'LAB 4'
Like 60755 was just a buffet car but in the 70's was transferred to the department who were developing the APT tilting train.
As you can see it is fitted with APT bogies and has the honour of being the worlds first vehicle to tilt at speed with passengers on board, albeit the test crew. It was originally saved by Hastings Diesels Ltd with the intention of turning it back to a buffet car but the amount of work needed made it an uneconomic proposition.
It was then sold on and taken to the Pump House Museum in Walthamstow and recently transferred to the APT-E project who moved it to Coventry to be restored as LAB 4.Personally im glad that it was an uneconomic proposal to turn it back into a buffet as a lot of history would have been lost.