DMU Operations
From their introduction in the mid-1950s to their final withdrawal well into the 21st century, DMUs were allocated to five of the six post-nationalisation regions, and were not strangers in the sixth (the Southern). From north to south and east to west, DMUs could be found working local branches, feeder, commuter, cross country and inter-city services.
The "DMU types" section looks at the different areas that each type worked, this section is intended to look at the types that worked in each area.
Deliveries
The North Eastern Region was the first to receive what we now call "First Generation" DMUs, introduced on Leeds to Bradford services in 1954. Almost 10 years and 3,800 vehicles later, the last deliveries were for the Western Region — Inter-City DMUs for working between South Wales and the Midlands.
The quantites and types delivered to each region varied greatly. The Eastern Region would get the smallest amount — 180 sets (380 vehicles) of mostly two-car low density stock. The London Midland Region got the largest amount (519 sets, 1275 vehicles) and the biggest variety of types. The North Eastern Region received 293 sets (820 vehicles), and, with the exception of the Trans-Pennine sets, all were 56ft low-density stock in 2, 3 and 4-car sets. The Scottish Region were delivered 185 new sets (474 vehicles), all low density except the Swindon types. The Western Region was the only region to have only 64ft vehicles and no low-density stock, its 309 sets (861 vehicles) were mainly the high density (suburban) type but also included Cross-Country, Inter-City and parcel vehicles.
The full breakdown of the different types is given in the table below showing the number of sets/vehicles. Some vehicle types this website covers — the Blue Pullman and railbuses — are not included in the figures. Note that for the Scottish 79xxx type, the 15 sets is based on them being formed into three-car sets.
| Type | ER | LMR | NER | ScR | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red T Derby L | 8/16 | ||||
| Yell D Derby L | 26/52 | 61/121 | 9/28 | ||
| BMU | 1/2 | ||||
| Met-Camm L | 29/58 | 7/14 | |||
| Swindon 79xxx | 15/46 | 6/18 | |||
| 50000/56000 | 1/2 | ||||
| Class 100 | 11/22 | 29/58 | |||
| Class 101 | 48/114 | 134/347 | 63/159 | ||
| Class 103 | 20/40 | ||||
| Class 104 | 66/188 | 31/114 | |||
| Class 105 | 50/100 | 38/95 | 31/63 | 22/44 | |
| Class 107 | 26/78 | ||||
| Class 108 | 126/252 | 32/81 | |||
| Class 109 | 5/10 | ||||
| Class 110 | 10/30 | 20/60 | |||
| Class 111 | 4/8 | 20/60 | |||
| Class 112/3 | 50/100 | ||||
| Class 114 | 49/98 | ||||
| Class 115 | 41/164 | ||||
| Class 116 | 108/320 | ||||
| Class 117 | 42/123 | ||||
| Class 118 | 15/45 | ||||
| Class 119 | 28/81 | ||||
| Class 120 | 7/21 | 58/173 | |||
| Class 121 | 16/26 | ||||
| Class 122 | 20/29 | ||||
| Class 123 | 10/40 | ||||
| Class 124 | 8/51 | ||||
| Class 125 | 20/60 | ||||
| Class 126 | 22/66 | ||||
| Class 127 | 30/120 | ||||
| Class 128 | 4/4 | 6/6 | |||
| Class 129 | 3/3 | ||||
| Totals: | 180/380 | 519/1275 | 293/820 | 185/474 | 309/861 |
The Cravens Class 105s was the type that was delivered to the most regions — the only type that was new to four different regions.
While the figures show the delivery locations, vehicles were soon moving about (some even being delivered "on-loan" to other regions). Regional boundary changes — the biggest affecting DMUs being Tyseley depot moving from the Western to the London Midland, line closures and the elimination of the 79xxx series types saw substantial changes to the vehicle bases.