"Central could not wait for the entire repair to be completed, and the lesser damaged of the two cars was rushed back into service about two months after the crash."
Looking pretty awesome in the memorable Central Trains green livery, 156401 approaches Bankers Bridge, Aston Fields, on 20th February 2004.
I said in the Virgin Electrics Loco-Hauled piece that finding coverage of the 25KV workhorses in the railway magazines of the late 1990s could prove a challenge. But if you ever feel the need to step up that challenge to new heights, try finding anything relating to the Central Trains Class 156s in the same printed matter. Grab a bundle of mags from the period, seek to convince yourself that the Tyseley-based Super-Sprinters even existed, and you may end up in some doubt.
156412 on a stop at Kings Norton station during an extremely rare outing on the Cross-City line, 27th January 2001. This is the Regional Railways Express livery that characterised the 1997 to 2003 period for the CT 156s.
But exist they definitely did. And they were visually-engaging units in their Regional Railways Express livery. They performed competently among ex-BR units too, with an average Lickey Incline ascent of 4 minutes and 18 seconds from a standing start at the old Bromsgrove station.