L418 Heyford 19 June 1991

For a short period in 1991, Class 117 three car unit L418 had its DMS vehicle (51397) replaced with Class 101 DMBS 51443 from unit L205. With two brake compartments this hybrid unit certainly had plenty of luggage space, especially compared with the Turbo units that replaced it the following year! L418 (51443, 59507 & 51355) is pictured arriving at Heyford on 19 June 1991 with the 2C70 19:26 Oxford to Banbury Network SouthEast service. Close inspection of the original 35mm Fujichrome slide shows the remains of the lead vehicle's former unit number L205, underneath the hastily applied L418. The hedge on the right has grown considerably since this picture was taken, making photography from this spot almost impossible.