Class 107 Derby 3-car DMUs

Withdrawals

The first withdrawal occurred in 1973 with DMBS 51995 from Hamilton following collision damage.

Next was DMS 52022 late in 1983 after several months stored unserviceable.

The fire at Ayr depot on New Years Day 1984 claimed eight Class 107 vehicles. All were immediately stored unserviceable. Five were withdrawn circa March (three of these were sent Derby RTC for conversion to a Laboratory unit) and the other three in May. The five that didn't move to the RTC (52003, 52009, 52017, 59788, 59799) were cut up on site.

DMS 52027 was withdrawn on November 5, 1985 after colliding with an iron ore train near Paisley on September 26th.

Strathclyde liveried DMBS 52007 was withdrawn the same month (or March 1986?) but re-instated in July 1986 and sent to Derby RTC for investigation into the axle defects. It returned to passenger use in Scotland.

By January 1991 there were 17 3-car and 3 2-car sets, and these were expected to be reduced to just six sets by October of that year. This was to be due to the cascading of the 156s when the 158s were introduced.

Serious withdrawals did begin in 1991 and continued until August 1992 when the last vehicles were placed in store. Official withdrawal was on the 5th October 1992.

A good few went into sandite use, which suggests that the class was still in good mechanical condition at the time, and they were one of the youngest first generation DMUs surviving at the time. However problems were being experienced with the structural strength of the vehicles, allegedly due to a real danger of bodies separating from the underframes under heavy braking, which likely influenced their withdrawal from public use.