769943 Long Marston 3 April 2023

3 April 2023 should have seen the remaining four Class 769 units moved from Reading to Long Marston for storage, in two trains (5Q10 & 5Q11). The day started badly when the 5Q10 08:18 Reading Traincare Depot to Long Marston only got as far as Reading station before one of the units (769959) developed problems, and so the train went back into the depot. 769943 eventually departed on its own, but owing to arriving at Honeybourne at roughly the same time as another unit from Derby Etches Park, it was nearly three hours late arriving at Long Marston. It is seen here entering the depot at 13:10 (not the 89 minutes late time of 11:46 as quoted by Realtime Trains). The second train was cancelled due to the line being closed between Didcot and Oxford owing to problems with a bridge over the River Thames. Another type of unit plagued by problems (701004) can be seen in the background.