Class Histories
The Pacer
The Pacer (or Railbus) is the original Second Generation Diesel Multiple Unit. These units are classes 140 through to 144, the most common being the 142. They were built from 1984 to 1987, using parts from both British Rail and the Leyland Bus Company. The original units were very uncomfortable, basic and unreliable. This was due to B.R being under finanical stress from the government, so B.R set a challenge to several companies to create a light, cheap to run railbus. Over 200 have been built, and the 142s, 143s and 144s are still in use today.
The original Pacer prototype was the class 140, which ran under the livery of British Rail 'Blue and Grey', the same livery which was applied to the locomotive-hauled Mark 1 coaches of the time. The prototype was built at BREL in Derby. Then came the 18 class 141s, with a capacity of 94 passengers. Each of these units underwent a technical refurbishment in 1988 at the Barclay works in Kilmarnock. All of these originals were withdrawn in 1990, most of which were sold to the Islamic Railway.
Next to come was the common class 142 DMU, again built at Derby and leased in 1985. The chassis of these units were based on the Leyland National bus. The 142 was originally destined for work on the old West Country branch lines, but were found to be an embarasment for British Rail as they were too long to fit round the tightly curved Cornish branch lines. Thus, they were moved to the Manchester and Yorkshire area. These relatively modern units had the capacity of 106 passengers, and have since recieved an upgrade for use by 'Merseyrail' around Liverpool and Manchester, and these units are still commonly seen on these and Northern Rail services.
The latest Pacer units were the 143s and 144s. The 143s, unlike their predecessors were built at the Barclay works in Kilmarnock. Also unlike the past units, these used the Walter Alexander bus bodies, and had a capacity of 122 passengers. However, during privatisation, these units were moved to Wales and West Trains, and then to Wessex Trains. In the year 2000 the interior was completely changed for Valley Line running, thus reducing seating capacity to only 106. The class 144 unit was a Walter Alexander body on a BREL bus frame, these were introduced in 1987, and both sets of units are still commonly seen in Yorkshire and some parts of Lancashire.
All in all, the Pacer has been very successful, albeit uncomfortable travelling due to them only having four wheels per car, and originally having bus seats.
The Sprinter
The class 150 units were built from 1984 through to 1987, and both 150/1s and 150/2s are a common site on todays railway network. A total of 137 units were constructed at BREL, and these units were to replace many of the original First Generation units.
The two prototypes were built by BREL in 1984, and were three car units numbered 150001 and 150002. Simultaneously to this, the class 151 units were being constructed by Metro-Cammell These two units were extensively tested to provide a reliable service to British Rail passengers, and all in all the class 150 came out on top. As a result of this, BREL were faced with an order for 50 units. Central Trains still use the two prototypes, and one was used as the testing unit for the new 90 MPh class 158 units, and thus was given a class 158 interior. To distinguish this unit from other 150s, it was given the number of 154, but has since been returned to its original number and state. The next batch of 150/1s were numbered 150101 through to 150150. These had different interiors to the originals, and were used for long distance running. The final batch of 150s were the new 150/2 units, with end gangway doors, numbered from 150201 through to 150285. Again, these had different interiors. Some of these units were later disbanded and some used to transform some of the Manchester and Birmingham 150/1s into three car sets. The Manchester based units were soon changed to their original state, wheras the Birmingham based units were renumbered to 1500xx, this worked by subtracting 100 from the original number, so 150103 became 150003.
The Class 153s
These units were originaly two car class 155 units, and were built by Leyland from 1987 through to 1988. Following the tradition from earlier First Generation single car units, these units are commonly reffered to as Bubble cars. Because they were originally two car units, each end is noticeably different, making these units not symetrical, which is uncommon for most DMUs.
The Super Sprinters (155s)
These units were built by Leyland in Workington. Like some of the Pacer units, these used Leyland National Bus parts, and were built in 1987 as a replacement of British Rails diesel fleet. Alot of the units were disbanded to form the class 153 units in the early 1990s, so not as many units survive compared to that of other classes. They are similar in interior to the class 156 units, which were ultimately being built at the same time. The entire fleet was withdrawn due to a fault in all the units in the 1990s, which is another reason why not so many of these units survive. These units are now generally seen most in Yorkshire, and most survive with their original red and cream WYPTE liveries intact.
The Super Sprinters (156s)
These units were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath works in Birmingham. Like their predcessesors, they were built to replace earlier DMUs and were numbered from 156401 through to 156514. The first batch of 100 units were ordered for the provincial sector of British Rail, and thus recieved the Provincial livery. The last 14 units were ordered by Strathclyde PTE, and carried SPTEs orange and black livery. Unlike the earlier class 150 units, these units had sliding doors at either end of each car, which anticipated longer running, and longer running means fewer stops and halts.
The Express Sprinters
These units were built from 1989 through to 1992 at BREL Derby works. Again, like their predecessors, they were built to replace earlier heritage units. 182 examples of these units were built, numbered from 158701 through to 158910. Most of the units are two car sets, but some single carriages were also constructed for three car running. These single carriages were numbered 52701 through to 52872 (or 52901 through to 52910) and 57701 through to 57872 (or 57901 through to 57910). Seventeen class 158 units were three car units and were numbered from 158798 through to 158814. The last batch of ten units were built specifically for WYPTE. The second batch of units incorporated different engines to the earlier batches (these being 350 HP Cummins engines, and 350 HP Perkins engines, this was to maintain Perkins interest in the units).