DMU Operations: Eastern Region
Of the five Regions that new received Diesel Mechanical Multiple Units the Eastern Region would receive the smallest amount — just 380 vehicles forming 180 sets.
| Type | Code | Formation | Sets | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby Lightweight |  |
2-car | 26 | 52 |
| Met-Camm Lightweight | |
2-car | 29 | 58 |
| 50000/56000 | - | 2-car | 1 | 2 |
| Class 105 |  |
2-car | 50 | 100 |
| Class 109 | |
2-car | 5 | 10 |
| Class 114 | |
2-car | 49 | 98 |
| Class 125 |  |
3-car | 20 | 60 |
| Totals: | 180 | 380 |
They were three distinct coupling codes in use and initially they more or less operated in distinct operating areas where mixing of types was not a problem. East Anglia had the Yellow Diamond sets, the Blue Square sets went to Cambridge (Cravens and after a spell at Stratford the Wickhams) and Lincoln (Cravens and Derby Heavyweights) — initially Lincoln had some Lighweights but these moved on when the Blue Square sets arrived; the Orange Star sets were for the GE Lea Valley line from London Liverpool St. to Hertfordshire and Essex.
All were low-density two-car sets except the twenty Orange Star sets which were three-cars of the suburban high density design for the busy commuter route.
Not included in the table/figures above are the five Waggon und Maschinenbau railbuses the Region also received.
Deliveries
The first vehicles delivered were the Derby Lightweights for Lincoln, the first of thirteen two-car sets being delivered in January 1955 and entered traffic in March 1955. These sets had both first and third class accomodation.
The next batch of Derby Lightweights was another thirteen two-car sets but this time there was no first class accomodation. All were delivered to Norwich, entering traffic in September 1956.
In January 1956 the Derby vehicles at Norwich began to be joined by Met-Camm Lightweights — the first ten sets of the Region's allocation of 29 sets were delivered there. For the remainder two sets to Stratford, six to Lincoln, another two to Norwich and the final nine to Lincoln. These sets also lacked first class (although some had this added later).
In October 1956 the Derby Heavyweights began to be delivered, mainly to Lincoln but some also initially worked from Stratford.
Oddball set 50000/56000 was listed as new to the Eastern Region in March 1957 and allocated to Lincoln from June 1957.
By April 1957 all the Eastern Region Met-Camm Lightweights were in East Anglia.
The five Wickham sets were delivered to Stratford between August 1957 and August 1958. They would work Wickford-Southminster and Upminster-Romford services.
All of the third batch of Cravens sets (48 sets) and the first two of batch four would be delivered to Lincoln and Cambridge beginning in May 1958.
The final type delivered were the Rolls-Royce powered Derby suburban triples, the first set arrived in December 1958 and they commenced working Lea Valley services in January 1959.
Other types
The section above describes the sets that were built for the Region, and over the next few years many other types would be allocated: Class 100s; Class 101s, Class 104s; Class 108s; Class 111s; Class 115s; and Class 116s.
The North Eastern Region amalgamated with the Eastern Region in January 1967.