What to do with Mk 3 EMU coaches upon withdrawal

[hexagon789]

Classes 317 to 322, 455 and 456. They're not particularly interesting, to be honest, and coming very close to the end of their normal working lives (they were built between about 1981 and 1992).

You forgot the most (in)famous of all - the Plastic Pigs, 442s!

 

[hexagon789]

With a substantial quantity of Mk 3 EMU coaches being withdrawn in the next few years I have been thinking about what else to do with them rather than scraping, maybe converting some into cheap temporary housing for homeless people for instance, what do others think?

Charters, some preserved perhaps, possibly a sort of land-cruise train like the Irish Belmond Grand Hibernian; might replace some of the Royal Scotsman's Mk1s and the like.

Most will probably be scrapped, exactly the same happened when Irish Rail withdrew their much younger and power-door fitted Mk3s, no one bought any really despite them being repeatedly advertised; some were preserved, about 10 went to form the Belmond Hibernian, and 4 generator vans went into the Enterprise sets.

The remainder were scrapped after only 20-25 years service.

At least the overwhelming majority of ours will have managed 35+ years and many will have been in service for 45-50.