About
The On-Track Plant Preservation Group was set up during 2004 by the creators of ontrackplant.com and departmentals.com.
Over the last 50 or so years, there have been hundreds of On-Track Plant (OTP) vehicles in the UK performing essential track maintenance and renewal work. Unfortunately, virtually all meet their end with the scrapman. Excluding cranes and Wickham trolleys, only a handful of machines have made it into preservation.
We aim to change this situation by saving rare and endangered machines from the scrapman.
Our short term aim is to cosmetically restore our fleet of on-track plant. Often these machines suffer from vandalism during their years of storage.
In the long term, we aim to mechanically restore our fleet and would eventually like to see them operating on preserved railways that can make full use of them for maintenance and extension projects.
As well as the restoration of machines, we are always on the look-out for other small machines to add to our fleet.
Northumbria Rail
Northumbria Rail took over the assets of the OTPPG during 2008. The items of plant had already moved to NR’s yard in Longhoughton where their staff have been working on the machines. They joined several other machines already on site, and have since been joined by more.