Wickham of Ware are better known in this country for their track inspection trolleys but the company had also pioneered a design of lightweight diesel railcars for use on the railways of South America. As part of the modernisation process British Railways ordered five two-car sets which featured this unique "box girder" type of construction which, allied with the use of aluminium produced a very strong and light vehicle. Of the five sets made two were bought back by Wickhams and exported to Trinidad and two others were scrapped about 1972 but this, the only surviving power car, survived to be preserved. It would have become class 109 had it survived in service long enough.

The vehicle - and its partner E56171 have narrowly escaped the scrapman a number of times. In 1972 they were commandeered as an inspection saloon and the original "art deco" interior was removed. This duty finished in 1980 when they were bought for the Chasewater Railway where they continued to deteriorate until 1994 when they passed to our Group. Heavily contaminated with blue asbestos and under threat of scrapping they had to be stripped where they lay before being moved on to the Midland Railway Centre.There - in a rebuild programme lasting for ten years and aided by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund - both cars were carefully rebuilt to their original appearance. New interiors to the original design were built and installed and every mechanical component was removed and rebuilt. The rebuild involved making new doors, removing some windows and reinstalling some others which had been removed.
The rebuild was completed in January 2004 and the unit reentered service in February 2004 - some 32 years since it last ran in passenger service.