Now where do I start? they are bog ugly, tinny, uncomfortable and noisy, the controls were badly placed, heating/cooling was rubbish, they are pathetically underpowered for shunting and buffering up, to buffer up required around half power against initial on a 47, they were delivered totally unable to operate anywhere near their specification, the couplers didn't work so we had to use emergency screw couplings causing complaint after complaint of snatching from the Postal staff, the ETS/ETH/HEP was so loud we were banned from using it in stations and at the PRDC, oh yes, did I mention they are uglier than the winner of an ugly train competition? rumour has it that they were rejected by the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau quality control department on aesthetic grounds
Shortly after I went to MML a story started doing the rounds that a single cab version was being considered as a replacement for the 43, I immediately started polishing up the cv but luckily it was just one of those stories meant to terrorise people ........