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Class 116 diesel multiple units


chrisf
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Chris,

Good to hear from you on this topic again. I look forward to the next instalment - as I suspect do several others....

 

Once you get to the 1980s, I should be able to cross-reference with my observations of the Tyseley fleet.

 

Let's just say that my choice of location for further education was based partly on the reputation for engineering degrees and partly on the DMU fleets available in the local station.....

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1978

 

What may surprise us is the length of time that it has taken this instalment to appear!  I am very sorry about that but I’ve been busy with other things including the little matter of writing captions for Irwell Press and preparing for the holiday of a lifetime.  I doubt that I will look at a vintage Railway Observer again much before the middle of March.  It is reassuring to know that the thread is appreciated, particularly by Eddie.  So, here goes!

 

In February 1978 the last dmus at Finsbury Park were moved to Tyseley.  For ease of reference they were: 50824+59332+50877, 50827+59361+50880, 50828+59336+50906 and 50830+59343+50883 Finsbury Park to Tyseley.  50852+59328+50871 were moved from Hamilton to Tyseley at around the same time.  I know what you’re thinking: they would have received TS set numbers …

 

April 1978 saw the following movements:

50081+59486+50123,  50863+59538+50916 Canton – Tyseley

50818/21/6, 59326/33/60, 50875/8, 50905 Hamilton – Tyseley

 

All these were in preparation for the commencement of the Longbridge – Four Oaks service on 1st May.

 

Revised Hamilton formations were reported in May 1978:

 

160      50820+59328+50873

161      50822+59330+50876

162      50823+59331+50879

163      50825+59337+50881

164      50829+59345+50882

165 G  50836+59344+50889

166 G  50839+59347+50892

167      50841+59349+50894

168      50846+59354+50899

169      50853+59367+55007

 

Passenger services in the Cardiff Valleys were revised once again from 3rd July with a saving of four 3-car dmus, thus bringing perpetual motion ever closer!  Merthyr was closed as a signing-on and stabling point.  Under the new arrangements units were stabled: Barry 2, Canton 8, Rhymney 6, Treherbert 4. 

 

More moves took place in October:

 

50087+59037+50129 Laira to Canton, having been moved to Laira in July

50834+59038+50887, 50842+59350+50895 Canton - Tyseley

 

In November Glasgow Eastfield received its first allocation of Class 116, 50090+59374+ 50132 from Tyseley and 50836+59344+50889 from Hamilton.  In part replacement 50859+59027+50877 was sent from Tyseley to Hamilton.

 

December 1978 saw two sets reformed.  C317 [50858+59492+50911] received 59492 instead of 59366 which was sent to Cricklewood.  C319 [50868+59504+50918] received 59504 instead of 59365 which went to Tyseley.  Both sets went to Laira.

 

Chris

 

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  • 3 months later...

It's time to apologise again.  At the beginning of March, at the end of my holiday of a lifetime, I went down with a virus-based chest infection which has severely restricted how much I can do.  Nearly two months later I am still not free of it and if I'm honest it's getting me down.  On Monday morning I made a list of jobs that aren't yet done and it's scary.  I look forward to researching 1979 and subsequent years, and sharing the results, when I am functioning on something nearer to full power but I suspect it will be a while yet.  Thank you for being so patient!

 

Chris

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1 hour ago, chrisf said:

It's time to apologise again.  At the beginning of March, at the end of my holiday of a lifetime, I went down with a virus-based chest infection which has severely restricted how much I can do.  Nearly two months later I am still not free of it and if I'm honest it's getting me down.  On Monday morning I made a list of jobs that aren't yet done and it's scary.  I look forward to researching 1979 and subsequent years, and sharing the results, when I am functioning on something nearer to full power but I suspect it will be a while yet.  Thank you for being so patient!

 

Chris

 

No rush, Chris, you just focus on shaking it off.  It's nasty, I had something that sounds extremely similar for several weeks starting in early March, and it is debilitating, to say the least.

 

Get well soon!

 

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No need to apologise Chris, what you have provided so far is wonderful but there is no rush to continue, your health comes first. All the best and restart the 116 story whenever you feel ready ! 

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Absolutely what they said; chest infections can be very serious very quickly and you need to prioritise looking after yourself over depressing lists of jobs to be sure not to relapse.  My advice, FWIW, is to make very sure you are fully back to a healthy state before tackling any of them, and if any are too urgent for that get someone else to do them for you, but I know this is difficult if you are used to looking after things yourself.  The 116s can be put off until the later stages of your convalescence when you are well enough to do it and bored enough to want to; we can wait!

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Thanks, everybody.  I admit to having done a few daft things while the infection was at its newest and worst - driving to and from a funeral in Somerset, for instance - and some hard lessons have been learned.  It is easier to give advice than take it but on this occasion I know you are right.  I need to learn how to admit defeat.

 

Chris

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3 hours ago, chrisf said:

Thanks, everybody.  I admit to having done a few daft things while the infection was at its newest and worst - driving to and from a funeral in Somerset, for instance - and some hard lessons have been learned.  It is easier to give advice than take it but on this occasion I know you are right.  I need to learn how to admit defeat.

 

Chris

 

You have my empathy - I got drenched and cold in Somerset, coincidentally, which I believe enabled it to really take hold, and then was caught in the snow in Newcastle one week later when I was already on the way down.  All I was capable of for the best part of five days was sleeping.

Edited by 'CHARD
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1 hour ago, creweboy said:

Sorry if it already been covered, what year did the Class 116 gain corridor connections, and were all of them converted?

 

Mike

 

Cardiff Yes

Tyseley No

 

Dates somewhere in the thread

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On 24/04/2019 at 14:50, creweboy said:

Sorry if it already been covered, what year did the Class 116 gain corridor connections, and were all of them converted?

 

Mike

All Canton's sets were gangwayed by 1969/1970 in advance of conductor guard operations.

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  • 3 months later...
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So rather out of chronological order but such a great picture that it needed to appear in this seminal thread - a Stan Morton photo posted here courtesy of Roger Morgan from the Railways of the Black Country and Birmingham facebook group

 

image.png.19164beac829c8bb1f94c0488d1c75ba.png

 

A Class 116 unit approaches West Bromwich (Woo hoo come on you Baggies!) in August 1957 on a Snow Hill - Wolverhampton working. Underframe looks dirty but otherwise looking pretty new - one of the second batch on loan to Tyesley if I interpret the front end configuration correctly...

 

Many thanks Roger!

 

Phil

Edited by Phil Bullock
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4 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

So rather out of chronological order but such a great picture that it needed to appear in this seminal thread - a Stan Morton photo posted here courtesy of Roger Morgan from the Railways of the Black Country and Birmingham facebook group

 

image.png.19164beac829c8bb1f94c0488d1c75ba.png

 

A Class 116 unit approaches West Bromwich (Woo hoo come on you Baggies!) in August 1957 on a Snow Hill - Wolverhampton working. Underframe looks dirty but otherwise looking pretty new - one of the second batch on loan to Tyesley if I interpret the front end configuration correctly...

 

Many thanks Roger!

 

Phil

Hi Phil,

 

The battery boxes look quite clean and I wonder if the colour of the other components is a shade of aluminium paint especially on the engines.

 

Gibbo.

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Many thanks to Phil for posting that image and to Roger for making it available.  Other contributions of 116 images will be gratefully received.

 

I owe you all an explanation for my continued absence following the eventual recovery from the virus infection that laid me lower than I ever imagined it would.   I have bitten off more than I can chew and have even got behind with my modest contributions to Railway Bylines.  Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to return to the musty copies of the Railway Observer that are the principal sources of the material for this thread.  It will be a while yet before this happens but happen it will!  Thank you for your considerable patience.

 

Chris

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Chris what you have posted already is a fantastic resource .... sorry to hear you have been laid low, life can be rotten at times. Go careful and get strong again - anything else can wait!

 

Phil

 

 

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Viruses are nasty little fellows, Chris; get well soon but not too soon, and give yourself plenty of convalescence.  You don't 'owe' us an explanation, we owe you a debt of gratitude for what is, as Phil says, a fantastic resource, well researched and accurate.  I learned a huge amount about a class I thought I knew a bit about from it!

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  • 11 months later...

DSCF0926.JPG.f9ff6110a7974b6479f1ee188ac7f58d.JPG

 

Excuse the messy workbench, but this is the first pass with primer to show up where more fill/rubbing is needed. How does it look?

 

Also, does anybody have pictures of the underframe equipment and the inner ends?

 

Lot cheaper than the Bachmann DMU

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