FM Rail
| Predecessor | Fragonset Merlin Rail |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 1997 |
| Founder | Mark Sargent |
| Defunct | December 2006 |
| Headquarters | Derby |
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
| Services | Freight operating company |
FM Rail was a railway charter company based in Derby, England. The company was formed when spot hire company Fragonset Railways and charter operator Merlin Rail merged. It went into administration in 2006.
Fragonset Railways was formed in 1997 as a spot hire company when four Class 47/7 locomotives were purchased from Pete Waterman with the operation initially based at the Tyseley Locomotive Works. In November 1997, Fragonset commenced its first contract providing locomotives for Virgin CrossCountry. A further Class 47/7 owned by the Lear family was also managed. A permanent base was established at the Railway Technical Centre, Derby. The locomotives were repainted into a new livery of black with a broad maroon mid-bodyside stripe.
In 1998, Fragonset purchased several redundant Class 31 locomotives from EWS. The first of these, 31452, was quickly repaired at the company's base at Tyseley Locomotive Works. A further four Class 31s quickly followed. They were initially employed on Silverlink services on the Marston Vale Line, operating in top and tail mode with two carriages. The use of the Class 31s continued until 1999, when Class 150/1 diesel multiple units replaced them. Following this, the Class 31 fleet was employed on a variety of duties, including hire to WAGN to haul electrical multiple units between depots for maintenance.
Fragonset would go on to purchase many redundant locomotives from EWS, mainly of classes 31, 33, 47 and 73. By 2002 it had purchased 75.
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