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
October 10th
Two documents on electrical systems have been added to the Training Manual section, one on Auxiliary Circuits (1.5mb PDF), and one on Alternators (3.3mb PDF).
October 3rd
Added to the headcode pages are four more sections from Western Region working timetables.
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.
Latest Images:
Class 121 W55025 is seen in Bodmin Road alongside Western 1013 working 1A09, the 1610 Penzance - Paddington service which was running five minutes late on 1 May 1975. Despite Ferndale being on the destination blind, the DMU would be on 2B22, the 1640 Plymouth - St Austell service. Roger Geach.
Jarrow station on 20/05/1981 with a class 105 arriving on a Newcastle bound service. John Clark.
2-car Gloucester DMU led by SC50347 (and presumably paired with SC56102, closest) leaves Elderslie on 15th April 1963 and heads for Glasgow St Enoch. Colin Kirkwood.
Craven SC56478, leading a 2-car set, passes through Elderslie without stopping on 19th March 1963 heading for Glasgow St Enoch. Colin Kirkwood.
A Swindon DMU on its way to Edinburgh, probably in the summer of 1969. Photo taken between Cadder Yard and Lenzie. Colin Kirkwood.
On This Day:
A Class 116 with 53052 at the front approaching Duddeston on 12/10/85. Steve Jones.
54034 + 53031 head out of Lincoln station with a Nottingham service on the 12th October 1985. Hamish Stevenson.
M50538 is seen on the back of a set leaving Stockport, 12/10/78. Malcolm Clements.
Class 108 set L231 (presumably 54271 + 51909) in Network Southeast (original) livery at Stewartby station on 12-10-1992. Doug Pritchard Collection.
A pair of two-car 117s at Edinburgh (Waverley) on 12/10/99, 117 311 (presumably 51352 + 51376) nearer and 117 308 (presumably 51413 + 51371) further away on the 10.20 to Cowdenbeath. The Haymarket 117s had their centre cars removed to reduce weight in an attempt to improve their reliability, but this was not a success and they were withdrawn soon after this photo was taken. Kenneth Leiper.