EddieK

When new, the 142s (at least) had Leyland engines and Self Destructing Gears transmissions. The driver wouldn't have had any input to the gear changes, there would have been an electronic brain to cut the engine revs and change gear. Probably a similar system to that fitted to Leyland Buses.

This DMU set would have had less than six weeks of service remaining.

Apologies if this is old news but the area above the windscreens looks almost 2 dimensional in this image. I have just read the books about Scottish 47s and for every loco described there is a mention of "eyebrows" above the windscreen; depending on where the loco was built there are either two separate ones or one continuous one. This model appears not to have any. Also, the beading that divides the yellow from the blue roof dome doesn't look as pronounced as on the real thing.

In 1993/4 I went on a visit to Salisbury Depot, organised by the I.Mech.E and as part of the tour we saw the depot's Black Museum of Rosyth Dockyard's handiwork. One item I recall was how they fixed newly installed equipment into the vehicles with woodscrews into the floor that then passed through wiring looms. As an aside, in more recent times the SWT Class 159 fleet was consistently one of the best performing DMU fleets in the country, though it was noted that all bar a few units returned to Salisbury Depot every night, which doubtless helped.

A former colleague in the rail industry had been a Station Manager at Liverpool Lime Street. He told me about early (ish) days of 142 operation from there where 2x 142s would leave the station via the left-hand line (sorry, no access to my Quail Maps) that went through an extra tunnel shortly after leaving the station; this tunnel had a curve within it that caused the two units to uncouple and then screech to a halt.

Norwood Junction bridge, a place where a number of Londaon Transport double deck buses have lost their roofs over the years. My first day driving railway replacement buses for Connex Bus (over 20 years ago) involved driving right up to said bridge, then taking the turning off to the right.

On the Cambrian Coast lines, the down platform at Machynlleth extends over the road on the bridge, though the up platform does not. Tywyn Station has both platforms over the road, and in some telephoto type images the "hump" in the track is quite pronounced.

My box of 10 Mark 2b in Blue Grey arrived this week, though I have not unwrapped them, as we might be moving house soon (if anyone buys our current residence....). I hope to be able to run them with Bachmann 2a stock on my planned WR layout in due course, and I note the comments about getting them to match one another. My order was originally placed with Hattons, and when I received the sad news of their closure, I contacted Accurascale who were able to seamlessly fulfil my order; many thanks Accurascale! Just waiting for a few Mark 2c to arrive now....

Recently I blundered into this image of 47152 in two tone green with TOPS numbers and still with three piece fixed grilles. The image is dated late April 1975 - how long did this lici last in this condition?

From primary school age, I was aware of the trains at the bottom of our garden. (Early to mid 1970s). There was a gate at the bottom of the garden that gave access to a relatively wide strip of land alongside the Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey branch and I often used to watch the DMUs (usually Class 105) pass by. Also around this time, my late father used to have to send parcels of engineering components by Red Star Parcel from Watford Junction to exotic Uddingston. Occasionally I would accompany him, and once the parcel was on its way, we would often venture onto the station platforms to watch the Classes 81 - 87 pass by, along with Class 310 and 501 EMUs serving the station, and occasional diesel locos as well. Sometimes the station bookstall would provide a rail related magazine to enjoy when we returned home. My late father's place of work was alongside the ECML a few hundred yards north of Potters Bar Station, and I often stood in the car park watching Deltics, 47s, 31s and Cravens DMUs pass on a Saturday morning. During the first half of the 1970s, we had some family holidays in Cornwall, where we stayed in the village of Golant, on the Fowey / Carne Point branch. There were still D1000s on the china clay trains as I recall. Many years later, I had to travel to Watford Junction to then attend my induction course at the BR training centre, "The Grove" when I joined the rail industry.

1989 Western Region Old Oak Common retained its pair of Class 116 Motor Brake Seconds at the start of the year. 53083 had been to Doncaster Works in December 1988 for a C3 overhaul, emerging in Network South East livery, which by that time featured the darker shade of blue along with the curved transition from horizontal to upswept at the cab ends. 53820 had also been to Doncaster Works in November/December 1988 for a G Exam, and also carried the same variant of NSE livery into 1989. In May 1989, L307 set comprised 53083 - 53820, an identical formation to 1987 and 1988. In June, these two had been split to form different units; 53083 ran in set L210 with Pressed Steel driving trailer 54289, the latter vehicle having been fitted with an inter-vehicle gangway. As an aside, 54289 passed through various preserved railways and is currently at the East Lancs Railway where a comprehensive restoration is underway, and from memory this includes reverting the non-cab end to its original non gangwayed state. 53820 was paired with Old Oak’s “odd” Class 118 Motor Second, 51319 as L705 set. Both units were observed during June (at different times) operating between Banbury and Oxford, and the Old Oak two car sets were also used on Thames Valley branches also on Gospel Oak - Barking services. Cardiff Canton was the other WR depot with any Class 116 vehicles in this year, and at the start of the year there were 22 vehicles, all motor coaches allocated. Eighteen of these were notable for having arrived at the depot during the 1960s! At the start of the year, the sets were: - C360 53080 - 53122 C362 53086 - 53128 C375 53855 - 53908 C377 53858 - 53911 C390 51128 - 51141 C391 51132 - 51145 C392 51134 - 51147 C393 51135 - 51148 C394 51139 - 51152 C395 51140 - 51153 C980 53089 - 51513 (Class 101) This set was soon disbanded. Spare 53131 At the beginning of the year, the unit requirements for Valley Lines were 15 sets of 150/2, 8 sets of Class 116 also a couple of Landore based Class 108s. A revision of the Sunday requirements from 8th January saw a couple of 116 sets required when previously there had been none. Flexibility on Valley Lines was maintained by minimising the amount of occasions when it was necessary to couple units together.The 116s had spent some time restricted to "Inner Suburban" services but from late 1988 they had been permitted to explore the outer reaches of the valley routes. In February and March, Cardiff hosted some prestigious Rugby matches and additional capacity was provided by borrowing Class 116 triple sets from Tyseley. There were also some of the Class 115/116 hybrid quad sets in use. In March 1989, Newton Heath Depot had a clear-out of Class 116 vehicles, and three vehicles made the move to Cardiff: 53843, 53848 and 53887. All three had been at Canton in the past, with 53843 and 53848 leaving there in September 1987 to go to Newton Heath. 53887 had been at Cardiff until October 1978, moving to Tyseley as part of the enhancement of the West Midland Class 116 fleet for Cross City Line operations. By May 1989, two additional sets had been formed using these returning vehicles: C373 53843 - 53131 C374 53848 - 53887 With the addition of these two sets, the Canton Class 116 fleet was at its peak for the year. Photographic evidence during the year shows this fleet of power twins typically operating on the various South Wales valley routes alongside the sizeable fleet of relatively new Class 150/2 Sprinter units. The power twin configuration would have assisted in keeping up with Sprinter timings, while the lack of toilets was not any different from when the 116s ruled these routes. In mid May, the Valley Lines on a weekday needed 12 Class 150/2 sets and 5 sets of first generation DMU; the latter were either 116s or Class 101/108 hybrids. Sundays required 8 Sprinters and 5 of the older units. From mid July, the Cardiff DMU allocation regained some Class 155 Super Sprinter units, after the fleet had been taken out of traffic for repairs/revisions to the bodyside doors. As a consequence, the Class 150/2s that had been covering for their absence on longer distance services were able to return to the Valley Lines. This led to a decline in the 116 fleet during Summer / Autumn with 53089 withdrawn in July, having lost its partner, Class 101 51513 earlier in the year. In August C373 vehicles were withdrawn, though 53843 was briefly reinstated for a fortnight in September before finally retiring. September saw sets C360, C374, C377 taken out of traffic. C375 followed them in December. The decline was countered by the transfer to Canton of two Class 116 MBS vehicles from Tyseley in October, namely 51133 and 51136. In addition, sets C390, 391 and 392 were temporarily reformed as three car “go faster” sets and renumbered accordingly. Around this time, C393 had a brief loan to Tyseley and was seen on the Birmingham - Stratford route. Unfortunately, the facility for Cardiff to borrow Tyseley units was no longer available from the latter part of the year. The December snapshot was: C331 51133 - 51136 Both cars were MBS - set later renumbered as “C391” C362 53086 - 53128 Set lasted until withdrawal in January 1990 C375 53855 - 53908 Withdrawn December 1989. C393 51135 - 51148 C394 51139 - 51152 C395 51140 - 51153 C901 51128 - 53632 (Class 108) - 51141 C902 51132 - 53642 (Class 108) - 51145 C903 53635 (Class 108) - 51134 - 51147 With C375 withdrawn by the end of the month, that meant a fleet of 16 Class 116 vehicles started 1990 at Canton. Eastern Region Heaton held on to its sole Class 116 vehicle, trailer 59040 for the duration of 1989. The other first generation vehicles at the depot during the year were a number of the former Carlisle based Class 108 power trailer sets, which generally remained in fixed formations, and a collection of Class 101 motor coaches with a few 101 Driving Trailers. It follows that the only possible use for 59040 would be as part of a triple set between Class 101 power cars, although the quantity of these reduced during the year and 59040 was recorded as Condemned in October, though not recorded officially as such until May 1990. London Midland Region Newton Heath started 1989 with seven Class 116 vehicles allocated, as part of the 104 first generation DMU vehicles at the depot. A year later and the first generation fleet there would be down to penny numbers. Evidently, the depot was getting to grips with running its fleet of second generation Pacer and Sprinter units. As part of the run-down of the older DMUs, three Class 116 vehicles were transferred to Cardiff Canton on 3rd March, 53843, 53848 and 53887. The other four vehicles were withdrawn 8th March, 53857, 53866, 53869 and 53922. Chester Depot started 1989 with no Class 116 vehicles allocated, however at the beginning of October it gained five triple sets from Tyseley, each formed with two Class 116 Motor Brake Seconds and a lavatory trailer of some other class. The reason quoted in Railway Observer was that this was to ease the maintenance workload at Tyseley. CH334 53054 - 59596 (Class 127) - 53850 CH336 51130 - 59721 (Class 115) - 53849 CH338 53050 - 59722 (Class 115) - 53058 CH340 53826 - 59719 (Class 115) - 53837 CH341 53061 - 59753 (Class 115) - 53079 In each case, the Tyseley set number was retained, so CH334 was T334 and so on. Evidently, Tyseley recovered from the workload problems as all sets returned there on 19th November. Around this time, Tyseley units seemed to appear in locations well beyond the West Midland area, including the Midlands and North Wales, so the allocation to Chester would not have made much difference to their utilisation. Tyseley depot remained the home of the largest collection of Class 116 vehicles on the LM Region, or indeed the whole of BR. 1989 was a relatively quiet year for the fleet. Only one Class 116 vehicle was withdrawn; 59330 had transferred from Scotland in February 1987 and saw limited use thereafter, despite having been stripped of heritage insulation materials. As a non-gangwayed vehicle with no lavatories it was looked upon less favourably than the displaced Class 115 TCL cars that moved to the depot. By early 1988 it had been dumped at Crewe, stored unserviceable. Formal withdrawal came 9th March 1989. Up until the latter part of the year, it was not unknown for Tyseley to help out the Cardiff fleet at times of high demand. In February, hybrid quad sets T405 and T420 ran on the Cardiff valleys while the Welsh Rugby team played Ireland . In March, Wales played England, leading to triple sets T319 and T339 along with hybrid quad sets T414 and T421 helping out in the valleys. After the match, T414 and T421 even worked an additional service to Cheltenham before proceeding home ECS. The Tyseley fleet provided some services in the East Midlands, which included occasions in April when a 3 car 116 set was used on the 07.15 Peterborough - Birmingham service, whil from mid May, a pair of hybrid quad T400 units ran the daily "Jolly Fisherman" service from Nuneaton to Skegness and return. The use of Tyseley units on excursions was illustrated on 20th May by T321 forming part of a Birmingham to Butterley working, while T319 was included on an excursion from Longbridge to York. A snapshot of the Tyseley Class 116 fleet at 30th May 1989 shows little change since 1988. (Class 116 vehicles underlined) Suburban lavatory triple T319 51129 - 59756 - 51149 T320 51138 - 59720 - 53890 T321 53854 - 59723 - 53907 T322 53071 - 59760 - 53880 T323 53818 - 59724 - 53093 T324 53053 - 59672 - 53101 T325 53060 - 59757 - 51142 T326 53822 - 59603 - 53881 T327 51071 - 59444 - 51101 Dedicated to Hednesford services Suburban lavatory triple - two brake vans T331 51133 - 59595 - 53090 T332 53865 - 59598 - 53073 T333 53082 - 59617 - 51131 T334 53054 - 59596 - 51136 T335 53844 - 59674 - 53827 T336 53849 - 59721 - 51130 T337 53853 - 59751 - 53838 T338 53050 - 59722 - 53058 T339 53850 - 59670 - 53863 T340 53826 - 59719 - 53837 T341 53061 - 59753 - 53079 T342 53055 - 59673 - 53056 Suburban lavatory quad T401 51662 - 59610 - 59743 - 53886 T402 51851 - 59658 - 59614 - 51146 T403 51852 - 59641 - 59616 - 53106 T404 51853 - 59604 - 59445 - 53919 T405 51877 - 59726 - 59615 - 51143 T406 51856 - 59606 - 59344 - 53893 T407 51858 - 59594 - 59442 - 53916 T408 51859 - 59448 - 59592 - 53114 T409 51860 - 59600 - 59367 - 53894 T410 51862 - 59602 - 59713 - 53124 T411 51865 - 59625 - 59597 - 53873 T412 51867 - 59446 - 59591 - 53102 T413 51868 - 59632 - 59593 - 53902 T414 51869 - 59661 - 59613 - 51144 T415 51870 - 59589 - 59353 - 53921 T416 51876 - 59609 - 59648 - 53891 T417 Not formed T418 51880 - 59643 - 59611 - 53116 T419 51884 - 59629 - 59590 - 51151 T420 51892 - 59607 - 59032 - 53092 T421 51897 - 59741 - 59612 - 53878 T422 51898 - 59608 - 59335 - 53897 Class 116 at works: 53132 Class 116 Condemned: 53825, 59326. The Tyseley fleet of Class 116s had long been associated with “local” services in the West Midlands, either on the Snow Hill routes or the Cross City Line, but in 1989 they had appeared in such diverse places as Hereford, Cardiff, Blackpool, Southport, and Skegness. Not exactly their intended use on intensive suburban services over (relatively) short distances; at least the passengers had access to lavatory facilities. A multi-coloured unit ran in the middle of the year when T341 was formed 53061 - 59753 (Class 115) - 51410 (Class 117); the 116 and 115 vehicles were in the customary blue/grey livery, while 51410 was part of T305 set, the chocolate and cream Class 117 painted specially for "GW150" in 1985. Birmingham is a major crossroads in the rail network, and the Tyseley DMU fleet has often been called on to head off in numerous different directions either on a planned or emergency basis. Examples include T332 working from Birmingham to Exeter vice a failed HST on 3rd August, T412 taking Aston Villa football supporters to Nottingham on 19th August and T339 deputising for a failed Sprinter and going to Cardiff on the Bank Holiday weekend. Also that weekend, T324 got to Ironbridge and T325 was in Llandudno. The biggest disturbances to the status quo at Tyseley occurred on 1st October 1989, when MBS vehicles 51133 and 51136 migrated to Cardiff Canton. In addition, five triple sets were reallocated to Chester to ease the maintenance workload: - CH334 53054 - 59596 (Class 127) - 53850 CH336 51130 - 59721 (Class 115) - 53849 CH338 53050 - 59722 (Class 115) - 53058 CH340 53826 - 59719 (Class 115) - 53837 CH341 53061 - 59753 (Class 115) - 53079 These five sets returned to Tyseley on 19th November, or thereabouts. Also in October T406 and T419 worked an excursion from Longbridge to Blackpool North. As was customary at Tyseley as this time, the so called “fixed” formations underwent a few tweaks, so here is another snapshot dated 4th November (Class 116 vehicles underlined): - Suburban lavatory triple T319 51129 - 59756 - 51149 T320 51138 - 59720 - 53890 T321 53854 - 59723 - 53907 T322 53071 - 59760 - 53880 T323 53818 - 59724 - 53093 T324 53053 - 59672 - 53101 T325 53060 - 59757 - 51142 T326 53822 - 59603 - 53881 T327 53073 - 59595 - 53897 T328 53865 - 59598 - 53873 Suburban lavatory triple - two brake vans T333 53082 - 59617 - 51131 T334 Temporarily at Chester T335 53844 - 59674 - 53827 T336 Temporarily at Chester T337 53853 - 59751 - 53838 T338 Temporarily at Chester T339 53090 - 59670 - 53863 T340 Temporarily at Chester T341 Temporarily at Chester T342 53055 - 59673 - 53056 Suburban lavatory quad T401 51662 - 59610 - 59743 - 53886 T402 51851 - 59658 - 59614 - 51146 T403 51852 - 59641 - 59616 - 53106 T404 51853 - 59726 - 59615 - 53919 T406 51856 - 59606 - 59344 - T407 51858 - 59594 - 59442 - 53916 T408 51859 - 59448 - 59592 - 53114 T409 51860 - 59600 - 59367 - 53894 T410 51862 - 59625 - 59597 - 53124 T412 51867 - 59446 - 59591 - 53102 T413 51868 - 59632 - 59593 - 53902 T414 51869 - 59661 - 59613 - 51144 T415 51870 - 59589 - 59353 - 53921 T416 51876 - 59609 - 59648 - 53891 T417 51877 - 59335 - - 53893 T418 51880 - 59643 - 59608 - 53116 T419 51884 - 59629 - 59590 - 51151 T420 51892 - 59607 - 59032 - 53092 T421 51897 - 59741 - 59612 - 53878 In late 1989, it was no longer possible for Tyseley sets to help out in South Wales, but T420 and T421 spent 2nd December on a shopper special excursion to Paddington. By the end of 1989 the Provincial “Sprinter Revolution” had seen completion of deliveries of Class 155 and 156 Super Sprinters (though with the 155s having some time out of service), while the Class 158 Sprinter Express units were just starting to appear. The remaining Class 116 vehicles were plying their trade on suburban services in the Cardiff Valleys, in the West Midlands and to a small extent in the London area, while the Tyseley based fleet also travelled to much more far-flung places. To conclude the story of 1989, I will summarise transfers and withdrawals for the year: - Transferred Newton Heath to Cardiff 3rd March: 53843 53848 53887 Transferred Tyseley to Cardiff 1st October 51133 51136 Transferred Tyseley to Chester 1st October then transferred back to Tyseley 19th November: 53050 53054 53058 53061 53079 53826 53837 53849 53850 51130 Withdrawals: 53080 Cardiff 21st September 53089 Cardiff 20th July 53122 Cardiff 21st September 53131 Cardiff 11th August 53843 Cardiff 11th August (Reinstated 9th September, final withdrawal 21st September) 53848 Cardiff 21st September 53855 Cardiff 12th December 53857 Newton Heath 8th March 53858 Cardiff 21st September 53866 Newton Heath 8th March 53869 Newton Heath 8th March 53887 Cardiff 21st September 53908 Cardiff 12th December 53911 Cardiff 21st September 53922 Newton Heath 8th March 59040 Heaton 7th October (Not formally withdrawn until 10th May 1990) 59330 Tyseley 9th March

If it was 5 twin sets in a power-trailer configuration that would be 10 coaches with five power cars.

I don't think that any re-gearing occurred. Drivers Manual BR33056 (as seen on www.railcar.co.uk) applied to all Blue Square coded DMUs including Class 123 and it mentions that 4th gear is to be used from 41mph to 70mph.

Taking a random date of 1st March 1976, the Laira DMU allocation comprised Classes 116, 118, 119 120 and 121.. By August 1977, the 116s had all gone, there were more 118s, most but not all of the 119s had gone, to be replaced by more Class 120, and the Class 121s remained. A search on the "Image" menu on the railcar website for Falmouth, found, in 1976 - 77, Classes 118, 119, 120 and 121 on the branch at different times.