BR Class 101

[LU_fan]

Please forgive this possibly very stupid question i am about to ask, but did these DMU's ever pull anything? Any trucks, tank cars, coaches, etc? I recently bought a Bachmann 00 gauge model in BR blue and grey and i am wondering if i should leave the couplers in place.

Edited August 29, 2015 by LU_fan

[Swindon 123]

Please forgive this possibly very stupid question i am about to ask, but did these DMU's ever pull anything? Any trucks, tank cars, coaches, etc? I recently bought a Bachmann 00 gauge model and i am wondering if i should leave the couplers in place.

They could pull what was known as "Tail Traffic" and that was generally laid down in the working instructions as to which workings where allowed to convey tail traffic. The Power car to trailer ratio also dictated the maximum weight that was allowed as tail traffic in relation to the number of engines the unit had working. If it was a Power/trailer set than roughly 2 x 4 wheel vans or 1 x CCT would be a normal tail load. 2 power cars and a single trailer, a typical 3 car unit, may be allowed up to a GUV or the like as a tail load. Things like gradients also affected what tail traffic was allowed. The last example of tail traffic I saw on BR was in November 1981 and involved Met-Cam set E51432 (DMBS in Blue) + E51501 (DMC in Blue/Grey) hauling an Ex SR CCT at Doncaster. I'm sure others on RM web will be able to come up with more examples, or even working instructions on the subject.

 

Paul J.

[chrisf]

It's not a stupid question at all.  I cannot put hand on heart and say that any 101s hauled tail traffic but some dmus certainly did.  Here are some examples that I know about:

 

# a pair of 122s hauling two milk tanks from Saltash to Plymouth, April 1962

 

# a single 122 hauling an E167 non-corridor brake composite from Kingsbridge to Brent, summer 1961

 

# a 118 set hauling a Fruit D from Paignton to Exeter and a full brake from Paignton to Newton Abbot, winter 1961-62

 

# Two 120 Cross-Country sets hauling a GW design corridor second from Birmingham Snow Hill to Hereford.  The late Michael Mensing photographed this and it was in a magazine

 

Chris

[LU_fan]

Thanks for the replies so far. 

 

The unit that i purchased is a two car unit, so that's what i'm the most interested in personally. Keep in mind that they are, as mentioned blue and grey. Although any examples are welcome.

[GordonC]

Or you could have something like a Class 128 coupled on for parcels

[Boris]

Tail traffic was regulated in many areas by the sectional appendix which laid down what was allowed to be pulled by what power twin or power trailer combinations.

 

There is a photo of a DMU on the blocks at Paddington with a Collett third as tail traffic, so they did indeed haul coaches as well.  If you want something totally screwy units were used to shunt the station yard at Whitby in the 80s as well as convey tail traffic from Whitby!

[Echo]

...............or a loco towing it when it breaks down

[Boris]

...............or a loco towing it when it breaks down

Bizarrely enough there is a photo of a relief set in Scarborough in about 1963 with a 37 towing a rake consisting of about 8 10x trailer cars!

[LU_fan]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I do however hope that my 101 doesn't break down on the line as i am the only club member to own any UK rolling stock. Well, apart from one guy running a Thomas & Friends set.

[kenw]

Although DMUs could haul 'tail traffic', by the time they were blue-grey livery the practice seemed to have largely died out (though not entirely from Swindon 123s post), and I never encountered it myself. Hauling passenger coaches by this time would be highly unlikely.

 

Authorisation and instructions for tail traffic were as suggested above, contained in the sectional appendixes, and were on a line by line basis.

The major factors were the line's gradient, and the number and ratio of power cars in the train.

For your two car set, if a power twin then maybe a GUV van or similar load on most permitted routes,

a power car / trailer two car set would unlikely to haul, if anything, more than a single 4 wheel van and on flattish routes

[Echo]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I do however hope that my 101 doesn't break down on the line as i am the only club member to own any UK rolling stock. Well, apart from one guy running a Thomas & Friends set.

 

You only have to pretend it is broken down

 

There are plenty of photos of locomotives towing DMUs like this in real life, so a loco and a DMU coupled together is very prototypical..

[Rivercider]

Not Blue/Grey or class 101  but here is an example  from 1978

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/picture_gallery/9005188889/in/photolist-eHKWVp-gkv4ji-dF7zeS-9wAmWK-gQrjHt-aY7i7i-9wAnap-aY7iit-8L8k8H-aUHyQc-aY7ioi-8L6qBS-8LjzSz-8L4rpi-ubvRpj-oiBkgp-9EPSX9-9ENyCy-a4zBs3-9Jm92m-9Jm9cC-9Jm8Em-a4zHwh-9JHv2u-fGF8t3-a4tnnt-tTRQt5-sfN7gg-sV2eW7-p4VNf9-oMt6t5-82VZJy-b9DTbT-p4GziH-b9DUnB-jztruW-p4GtCK-9JiqZc-wUjLF7-e7LLEk-bQByMa-wHmwKu-aawqFq-vYe9FC-oMtk8E-aLN7wv-ffffZZ-oMtjQf-p2VVAY-bLb5HM

 

cheers

[LU_fan]

Although DMUs could haul 'tail traffic', by the time they were blue-grey livery the practice seemed to have largely died out (though not entirely from Swindon 123s post), and I never encountered it myself. Hauling passenger coaches by this time would be highly unlikely.

 

Authorisation and instructions for tail traffic were as suggested above, contained in the sectional appendixes, and were on a line by line basis.

The major factors were the line's gradient, and the number and ratio of power cars in the train.

For your two car set, if a power twin then maybe a GUV van or similar load on most permitted routes,

a power car / trailer two car set would unlikely to haul, if anything, more than a single 4 wheel van and on flattish routes

 

Well, in that case i might just remove the couplers and (try to) attach the buffer beam details.

 

You only have to pretend it is broken down

 

There are plenty of photos of locomotives towing DMUs like this in real life, so a loco and a DMU coupled together is very prototypical..

 

Only problem then is that i personally don't have any UK mainline locomotives. So i'd be stuck with Thomas or Duck pulling it. So i think i'll skip this example.

[Market65]

I remember a journey from Beverley to Hull in May 1978 travelling in a class 101 set towing an ex-SR PMV. The four wheeler could be seen bouncing and swaying wildly as the unit got up to a steady 70 mph between the stations. Regularly, there was one morning DMU to Bridlington, and one evening return from Bridlington to Hull which conveyed one of the ex-SR PMV's. (It never seemed to be one of the ex-SR CCT's).

 

So, use the couplings of your choice, and have the 101 towing a van as required, it is quite prototypical.

 

With best regards,

 

Market65.

[LU_fan]

Do you remember if it was a 2 car or 3 car Class 101?

 

I've actually started putting the details in place in one end of the set, but the other is still unchanged.

[Market65]

It was a 2-car power-trailer set refurbished in blue and grey. I hope that this is of some help.

 

Market65.

[deltic17]

I remember travelling from Bishop Auckland to Darlington on a class 101 with a parcels van attached circa 1975 - it was one of my earliest trips on a train!

[LU_fan]

It was a 2-car power-trailer set refurbished in blue and grey. I hope that this is of some help.

 

Market65.

 

It is indeed! I'll leave the motorized end of the car with its coupler now that the trailer has already been detailed.

 

 

I remember travelling from Bishop Auckland to Darlington on a class 101 with a parcels van attached circa 1975 - it was one of my earliest trips on a train!

 

Circa 1975, that would mean it was in the rail blue livery, correct? My knowledge on the matter is pretty limited.

[SRman]

Or you could have something like a Class 128 coupled on for parcels

If LU_fan has any other blue square DMUs (or buys some in the future), it may be worth retaining the couplings for multiple working.

 

Depending on which types of units were allocated to an area, class 101 could work with any of classes 105, 108, 110, 116, 117, 118, 121, and 128 (to name only those that are, or have been, readily available as ready to run models ... or have been announced, in the case of the Kernow 116/7/8). Of course, some of these multiples may never have occurred due to geographical separation. In model form it may not be practical to run the 101 with a Hornby 110, which has entirely different motor characteristics.

 

Of less value, perhaps, in view of the internal coupling system on the 101 model, it was entirely possible to see combinations of types within sets, such as a 101 Driving Motor, class 108 trailer and class 104 Driving Motor at the other end, but that may be getting away from the point of the original query.

[Gwiwer]

The practice of DMU sets in passenger service towing tail traffic was significantly, but by no means exclusively, a feature of rural lines.  It saved arranging a locomotive and crew for a separate working which might only require the capacity of a small van.  Such workings - which definitely included class 101 units - took place across East Anglia and were commonplace throughout Lincolnshire on the byways before most succumbed to closure.  I have seen images of such formations at "forgotten" places including Tumby Woodside, Mablethorpe and Yarmouth South Town.  All would have been published in The Railway Magazine over the years.  They also occurred in the rural south-west as noted in an earlier post.

 

I am prepared to stand corrected but I understand from personal conversations that such workings also included holiday-time "Passenger's Luggage In Advance" workings where locomotive-hauled trains no longer served (or could no longer serve due to the removal of facilities) some branch lines.  DMUs towed vans laden with suitcases to the likes of Filey Holiday Camp (which had its own branch line and station), Minehead and Skegness where large holiday camps adjoined the stations.  I have a vague recollection of seeing a class 120 unit in the bay platform at Par with a van on the Plymouth end (so being towed to Newquay) which would accord with such a working.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Gwiwer

[LU_fan]

If LU_fan has any other blue square DMUs (or buys some in the future), it may be worth retaining the couplings for multiple working.

 

Depending on which types of units were allocated to an area, class 101 could work with any of classes 105, 108, 110, 116, 117, 118, 121, and 128 (to name only those that are, or have been, readily available as ready to run models ... or have been announced, in the case of the Kernow 116/7/8). Of course, some of these multiples may never have occurred due to geographical separation. In model form it may not be practical to run the 101 with a Hornby 110, which has entirely different motor characteristics.

 

Of less value, perhaps, in view of the internal coupling system on the 101 model, it was entirely possible to see combinations of types within sets, such as a 101 Driving Motor, class 108 trailer and class 104 Driving Motor at the other end, but that may be getting away from the point of the original query.

 

The only other UK rolling stock i own at the moment are EFE's Isle of Wight sets. As for multiple workings, that's not what i had in mind at the moment, but maybe in the future. I have however, for now, retained the couplings in one end of the set.

 

That is a question for the future, but when it comes to motorized vehicles i'd prefer not to mix manufacturer due to the different motor characteristics you mentioned.

 

I am only asking this as the 101's have buffers on the inner ends, but did they have screw couplers by any chance?

 

 

The practice of DMU sets in passenger service towing tail traffic was significantly, but by no means exclusively, a feature of rural lines.  It saved arranging a locomotive and crew for a separate working which might only require the capacity of a small van.  Such workings - which definitely included class 101 units - took place across East Anglia and were commonplace throughout Lincolnshire on the byways before most succumbed to closure.  I have seen images of such formations at "forgotten" places including Tumby Woodside, Mablethorpe and Yarmouth South Town.  All would have been published in The Railway Magazine over the years.  They also occurred in the rural south-west as noted in an earlier post.

 

I am prepared to stand corrected but I understand from personal conversations that such workings also included holiday-time "Passenger's Luggage In Advance" workings where locomotive-hauled trains no longer served (or could no longer serve due to the removal of facilities) some branch lines.  DMUs towed vans laden with suitcases to the likes of Filey Holiday Camp (which had its own branch line and station), Minehead and Skegness where large holiday camps adjoined the stations.  I have a vague recollection of seeing a class 120 unit in the bay platform at Par with a van on the Plymouth end (so being towed to Newquay) which would accord with such a working.

 

Most of the layouts i run on have a pretty rural look, so that works for me.

[Jawfin]

The Ulster Transport Authority wins hands-down for going the furthest with railcar freight - their '70' class overfloor-engined units regularly hauled complete CIÉ freights from London/Derry to Lisburn.

The earlier underfloor-engined MPD ('Multi-Purpose-Diesel') railcars were also used on general freight, apparently being capable of hauling about 10 loaded wagons each. Failures, however, were very high. Twin-end (bubble) cars were also regularly used for shunting as well.

Earlier railcars and railbuses from the SLNCR, GNR, and NCC, had the capability of hauling the odd van or a specially-designed luggage wagon.

 

The more recent '80' class from the 1970s, with a 4SRKT engine the same as the 70s, weren't used on freight but could happily haul eachother about and occasionally shunt or move the odd non-80 item of stock - I believe this also includes steam engine No. 85 'Merlin'. Other instances when they were used like locos included the transfer of the three 'DH' locos for preservation, and power car 90 hauling 450 class railcar 458 (again with a 4SRKT engine) from Belfast Central to York Road Depot.

 

Some nice photos of the 70s in action here:

http://www.preservedthumpers.com/nir-thumper-freight.html

Edited August 30, 2015 by Jawfin

[deltic17]

 

Circa 1975, that would mean it was in the rail blue livery, correct? My knowledge on the matter is pretty limited.

 

Yes - rail blue - correct

[Fat Controller]

The Swindon Cross-Country units used to regularly haul tail traffic west of Swansea. Normally, this would take the form of an 'Insulfish', but I also saw 12t vans (before they were restricted to 45 mph), BR and other CCTs and a 12t Pipe. This latter was running from Milford, so presumably was carrying priority material from the RN base there.

There was a mid-morning working which I saw on several occasions in the late 1960s/early 1970s (my school overlooked the line west of Llanelli); this was an EE Type 3, a Swindon three-car Cross-Country, and a CCT. I wonder if it was a diagrammed working, as it seemed to happen too often on this particular working to be due to a failure. Perhaps 'The Stationmaster' might remember, as he was at Swansea High Street at around this time.

[Ramblin Rich]

There was some tail traffic on the Barnstaple line which came up on the North Devon freight thread, with this example

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/34499-north-devon-line-freight-in-1980s/?p=564887

 

Another similar consist on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarkaman/5452124304/in/album-72157626070317318/