Railbus number LEV1 has been returned to the National Railway Museum, the Wensleydale Railway has announced.

Based on the Leyland National Bus and built in 1975, LEV 1 is an experimental railbus that was the beginning of the design for the Pacer trains of the 1980s.

LEV1 has been on loan to the Wensleydale Railway since October 2012 and has been in service for several years.

Before it heads to Locomotion – Shildon, LEV1 was cosmetically restored by the team at the Wensleydale Railway.

“As a former Director of the National Railway Museum, I fully recognise that railway heritage and preservation is not just about the eye-catching steam, diesel and electric locomotives, but that those vehicles which played an important role in maintaining services economically in order to guarantee their viability are equally important. LEV 1 played a pivotal role in the eventual development of the much-maligned Pacers, a vehicle which despite its poor publicity actually underpinned a multitude of commuter and secondary services at relatively low cost for many years. LEV 1 therefore can rightly claim its place in the pantheon of British railway history – alongside the likes of the A1, A3 and A4 pacifics, the Royal Scots, Duchesses, Castles and Kings, and the early diesels, and of course the APT and HSTs. It is therefore a personal delight that LEV 1 has now been fully restored cosmetically by the Wensleydale Railway in anticipation of its return to the National Railway Museum where it will assume a modest but important role in telling the story of the passenger experience.

Steve Davies, Director of Wensleydale Railway PLC