On Wednesday 27 February 2008 a special ceremony was held at Brush Traction, Loughborough to officially mark the completion of the refurbishment and re-engining of 117 Class 43 powercars operated by First Great Western

Guests and members of Brush, First Group, Porterbrook and Angel Trains were welcomed at the site by John Bidewell, Managing Director, Brush Traction who outlined the project and made express comment on the cooperation of all members of the team - FGW, lease owners, suppliers especially MTU and Brush Traction staff in completing this massive project on time and within budget.

Graham Boot-Handford, First Great Western Engineering Project Director, who retires this week after being involved with Class 43s ever since their original delivery from BREL in the 1970s paid tribute to the quality of the work achieved at Brush, and especially the MTU power units now installed. He said that during January 2008 not a single train failed due to a power car defect and reliability figure for each commissioned vehicle is now higher than ever before.

Guests were then taken to the main erecting shop, where a couple of FGW Class 43s Nos. 43025 and 43175 are still receiving rectification work, to inspect the final two overhauled powercars Nos. 43002 and 43003. Both were completed in full FGW livery at Brush (branding has in the past been applied at Landore as part of re-commissioning) to the highest possible standard. The body finish was just like a mirror, one of the most impressive paint jobs ever seen on a loco.

The cast nameplate Isambard Kingdom Brunel is still applied to No. 43003 and 43002 is to be named at a future date.

----

FGW operates 53 sets of HSTs and has 117 power cars which have undergone an extensive refresh process at Brush Traction, which has also included corrosion repair, cab equipment refitting, relay replacement and exterior paintwork.

The MTU engines already dramatically reduce delay to HST services often caused by the old Valenta engines, which had reached the end of their working lives. MTU engines also deliver great environmental benefits by reducing CO2 emissions by 64%, and smoke particles by 42%. They also deliver a 15% fuel reduction.

Graham Boot-Handford, First Great Western Engineering Projects Director, retires at the end of this month (Feb), following the completion of this HST refresh project which has also seen the complete overhaul of the carriages at Bombardier in Loughborough.

Graham has worked with HSTs since they were first commissioned as 125s on the Western route in the mid 1970s. As a former Engineering Director for First Great Western, he managed the day-to-day task of keeping the fleet available for service.

Andy Mellors, First Great Western Engineering Director said : "The timing of the completion of the multi-million pound investment and life extension programme on the FGW fleet of HST power cars at Brush is particularly poignant given the retirement of former FGW Engineering Director Graham Boot-Handford at the end of this month. Graham has had a 30-year long association with the HST fleet since their introduction onto the Great Western Main Line in 1976 and it is particularly fitting that, as Engineering Projects Director, he should have been the director in charge of this major project."