The History of First Generation DMUs
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.
Date on DMUs
Vehicle / Set Data
To view details of a particular vehicle or set enter the number below:
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.
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.
Updates
Holiday time - updates will resume at the end of the month!
September 5th
Some new operation/timetable pages have been started: Sheffield - Doncaster; Birmingham New Street - Wolverhampton High Level; Leeds - Barnsley; Glasgow - Hamilton Circle; and Paignton - Exmouth.
August 29th
A look at the Rocket 150 DMU Shuttles for the 1980 event at Rainhill.
August 22nd
Added to the headcode pages are some of those used on the Western Region.
August 15th
Some new operation/timetable pages have been started: March - Wisbech - Kings Lynn; Liverpool - Gateacre; Leeds - Bradford Forster Square; Edinburgh - Dunbar; and West Drayton - Uxbridge.
August 8th
Added to the document archive is a 1964 Scottish Region Fault Finding booklet.
August 1st
Added to the headcode pages are three more summaries of those used on the Eastern Region from September 1962. Also a Leeds Neville Hill destination blind from circa mid-1960s.
July 25th
Some new operation/timetable pages have been started: Peterborough - Spalding; Nottingham - Sheffield; Darlington / Barnard Castle - Middleton-in-Teesdale; Fife Coast; and Brixham - Churston.
July 18th
New in the document archive are the Job Desciptions from Issue 3 of Standard Maintenance Instructions, the 1970s version of maintenance instructions.
July 11th
Added to the headcode pages are some of those used on the Eastern Region.
Latest Images:
E51115 + E56448 on a special running into Leiston sometime in 1977. This is thought to be the un-named East Suffolk Travellers' Association railtour that ran on 25 June from Felixstowe. Stuart Mackay Collection.
E51115 + E56448 on a special at Sizewell Siding in 1977. This is thought to be the un-named East Suffolk Travellers' Association railtour that ran on 25 June from Felixstowe. Stuart Mackay Collection.
September 1975 at Twyford station with a Class 121 which, according to my notes, will form the 19.14 to Henley. John Clark.
E51115 + E56448 on a special at Saxmunham in 1977. This is thought to be the un-named East Suffolk Travellers' Association railtour that ran on 25 June from Felixstowe. Stuart Mackay Collection.
101315 (SC51241 closest) in Dundee station, thought to be taken on 20 January 1986. Stuart Mackay Collection.
On This Day:
E51206 + E56399 crossing Scotswood Bridge on October 2, 1982. John Carter.
Class 105 set 30 (53359 + 54122) in Wolverton Works during the Woverton 150 Open Weekend on 2 October 1988. Andrew Malloy.
A Class 110 DMU departs from Clapham station presumably with a Morecambe - Leeds service on 2 October 1975. Michael Mensing.
31 414 with three Class 127 parcel sets on tow in Milton Keynes Central on 2 October 1988. Set 917 (presumably 55977 and 55987) is on the rear. Andrew Malloy.
DMS E53169 is seen in what was then Newcastle platform 11, with Brough on its destination blind, on 2/10/87. Below the driver's window can be seen the letters BG, the depot code for Hull Botanic Gardens, which at the time maintained a fleet of DMUs for East Yorkshire. In most cases, the top and bottom centre lights were smoothed away without a... Graeme Phillips Collection.