45002 passes Quedgeley on 18 August 1984 with a southbound test train from Derby. The second vehicle is the unique Leyland National Remanufactured Coach RDB 977091, a spin off from the Class 140 DMU project. It was basically a modified bus body on top of a reclaimed Mk1 coach underframe (ex M21234). This was supposed to be a cost effective life extension for the 1950s built coaches. Needless to say it was not a success. I am led to believe that this is one of the few pictures of it actually on the move on the national network. There will of course now be lots of other pictures coming to light to prove me wrong! Thanks to the many people who have provided corrections to my original caption. 45002 was withdrawn a month after this picture was taken, but as part of the general run down of the class, not as the result of fire damage, as reported elsewhere.