THE Swindon & Cricklade Railway was using the sole surviving Class 119 two-car set, DMBC No. 51074 and DMSL No. 51104, on a shuttle service between Blunsdon and Taw Valley Halt in connection with steam-hauled Santa trains on December 11, when it had to be brought to a standstill as smoke was seen coming from one of the underfloor engines.
There were no passengers on board when the crew became aware of the fire and brought the train to a stop in a safe place to investigate. They tackled the fire with the on board fire extinguishers and contacted the fire service who were quickly on the scene and stayed for a while as a precautionary measure. The fire did not break through to the passenger compartment and no train crew, volunteers or passengers were injured.
The incident was dealt with in a calm and professional way. Taw Valley Halt was closed and the shuttle service suspended for the following weekend’s event
