The History of First Generation DMUs

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The Railcar website provides information on the British Railways first generation DMUs (a.k.a. diesel multiple units / railcars) introduced in the 1950s.

The content of this website

The six key sections of the website are:

• Types - looks at each type of DMU in detail
• Topics - features articles on different aspects of the vehicles and personal recollections
• Technology - describes the technical details of how they work
• Data - various lists of numerical details
• Images - galleries featuring DMUs
• In Print - details the books and other printed materials made available over the years that have relevance

Details of railcars in preservation can be found on The Railcar Association website.

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Date on DMUs

Vehicle / Set Data

To view details of a particular vehicle or set enter the number below:

Vehicle:

       

Set No:

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DMU Images Wanted!

Do you have photos of First Generation DMUs? The more images we have the better we can tell the DMU story and make it more useful to visitors. Images can be loaded directly onto the site - just register as a user and upload! Alternatively if you have images on flickr or another website I can do the uploads for you - just let me know.

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Scope

This website contains details about the First Generation DMUs. This includes the 4-wheel diesel railbuses, ACV / BUT railcars, the Battery Multiple Unit (BMU) and Blue Pullmans. It covers the period from their introduction to British Railways in the 1950s till their withdrawal and disposal from main-line use, but NOT preservation.

Because of the vast amount of data that this covers and the amount of information I have still to process I cannot include the DEMUs introduced on the Southern Region in the same era, nor Second Generation or later types.

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Updates

October 5th

Added to the cyclic diagrams page are the diesel car workings for ScR East Coast Division allocated DMUs in the early 1960s.

September 28th

Two additional sets of driver's instructions have been added: an April 1958 release for the Battery Multiple Unit; and the original June 1959 release for the Class 125s.

September 21st

Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Sheffield - Barnsley; Crewe - Derby; Leeds - Huddersfield; Edinburgh - Stirling via Alloa; and Henley - Twyford.

September 14th

Added to the cyclic diagrams page are the diesel car workings for Bury depot commencing 17 June 1957.

September 7th

A PDF file of an Axle Diagrams booklet has been added to the bogie section.

August 31st

Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Peterborough - Grimsby Town; Redditch - Four Oaks; Newcastle - North Tyneside Loop; Grangemouth - Falkirk / Larbert; and the three Western Pullmans: The Birmingham Pullman, The Bristol Pullman, and The South Wales Pullman.

August 24th

A new page has been added to the data section for the cyclic diagrams that the units worked, with a new addition of the South Gosforth 4 February 1957 diagrams courtesy of John Whaley.

August 17th

A PDF file of the BUT Spare Parts Catalogue: Leyland Section has been added.

August 10th

Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Audley End - Bartlow; Oxenholme - Windermere; Leeds - Ilkley; Dundee - Tayport; and Marlow - Maidenhead.