Class 117 Pressed Steel 3-car DMUs

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Operations

All were delivered to the Western Region and the early years saw the vehicles working suburban services out of Paddington based at Reading and Southall. In 1964 they began to spread out in the Region reaching Cardiff and Plymouth in 1968 and Bristol in 1971.

In the mid/late 1970s some vehicles appeared on the London Midland Region, centre cars being allocated to Newton Heath and Cricklewood, and in the late 1980s sets went to Tyseley for Birmingham Cross-City services.

The 1990s saw sets reach Bletchley, Haymarket (for the Fife Circle) and Penzance.

They lasted in passenger use until 2000.

The Early Years

Originally the class mainly worked on locals out of London Paddington.

In June 1961 certain SR services between Reading, Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton & Portsmouth were noted as being worked by Reading 117s.

The image shows a set about to enter Radley station on the Didcot - Oxford line, Date unknown. Stuart Mackay Collection.

In mid-October 1965 these vehicles were allocated to 81C (Southall):
   51334/9-42/6-50/6/7/9/60/1/5/6/71/2
   51376/81-4/8-92/8/9/401/2/3/7/8/13/4
   59486/91-4/8/9/500/1/2/8/9/11/2/3/7/8 (+59478/9 - 118 trailers)

These were numbered as sets SHL300-19 (although there may not have been a 315) and used on Paddington - Slough - Reading locals.

These vehicles were allocated to 81D (Reading):
   51332/3/5-8/43/4/5/51-5/8/62/3/4/7-70/3
   51374/5/7-80/5/6/7/93-7/400/4/5/6/9-12/5
   59484/5/7-90/5/6/7/503-7/10/4/5/6/9-22 (+59480 - a 118 trailer)
   also W7254, W7804/13W (the Hawksworth coaches)

These were sets RDG 300-20 plus two others, and used from Reading to Paddington/Oxford-Banbury/Westbury & Woking to Salisbury.

It was noted that with a few temporary changes, these sets (both at Reading and Southall) had retained their original formations to this point. It is also noted that the converted Hawksworth coaches which had been previously used with the Cross-Country sets was now being used to strengthen these sets to 4-cars. At least four sets had corridor connections fitted by this time.

The arrival of three Met-Camm centre cars at Reading at the start of 1967 allowed them to replace the Hawksworth coaches in the Pressed Steel sets.

The images shows set 421 (presumably 51369 + 59521 + 51411) with a Met-Camm centre car in it as it passes through Worthing (Central) station on Sunday September 1st, 1968. This was a ten-car formation working a circular mystery tour from Paddington on the bank holiday weekend. Steve Davies Collection.

An unusual working for the Class was on June 17 1967 when a set (51364 + 59516 + 51406 in blue livery with small yellow panel) were hired from BR along with a driver, guard and foreman by the Wallingford Round Table. The DMU ran services for the day on the branch between Wallingford and Cholsey & Moulsford in connection with the Wallingford Carnival. The Reading branch of the Great Western Society assisted with issuing souvenir tickets - returns were 2s 6d for adults and 1s 3d for kids - and clearing the weeds and cleaning Wallingford station. All trains were well filled, the final service leaving Wallingford at 18:00 ran through to Reading.^[1]

At the start of 1968 Reading was allocated 25 sets (400-24), all gangwayed, three with BRC&W centre cars, while Southall had 17 non-gangwayed sets (450-466). This soon changed as three Reading sets (407-9 51345-7/59497-9/51387-9) were transferred to Laira in January.

The image shows set 408, with W51388 closest (presumably with 59498 + 51346) at Bodmin Road, date unknown. Graham Clark.

The first vehicle to be withdrawn would be DMBS 51357 which was fire damaged around March 1968 and withdrawn from Southall in April 1968. Its place was initially taken by Derby-built 50083.

In April 1968 Southall lost its DMU allocation, all moving to Reading.

In the summer 1968 timetable (from May 6th) the four-car sets containing a Met-Camm centre car worked the 06:45 Frome - Reading and 17:03 Paddington - Westbury, amongst others. Initially one working was covered by set 400 (51334 + 59538 + 59486 + 51376), the other by set 414 (51356 + 59543 + 59508 + 51398). The third Met-Camm was spare.^[2]

1970s

Sets can be seen at Paddington in this British Pathe newsreel.

In the early 1970s some sets left the London area going to Bristol, by the late 1970s they could be found at Cardiff, and the early 1980s Plymouth was also a base for some.

This image shows Class 117 set B408 passing Blatchbridge Jct with the 12:08 from Bristol, 26-5-75. Adrian Vaughan.

1980s

On the 18th December 1981 set L423 ran through the buffers at Henley-on-Thames due to a brake failure and 51403 suffered accident damage. Recorded as being withdrawn from Reading in April 1982 (just the second vehicle from the Class to be withdrawn), it is believed to have been stripped and broken up at the depot in February of that year.

Tyseley

Circa 1987 any Western Region Class 117 set that was not at Reading (which included Bristol, Plymouth and Cardiff) moved to Tyseley for the Birmingham Cross-City services. They were given T3xx set numbers.

The image shows set T308 with another backing into Lichfield Trent Valley after shunting out on 15-3-89. On Tour With The Class 13 Army.

1990s

Bletchley

At the end of 1992 a number of power-twins in the L7xx series began to arrive at Bletchley, mainly from Reading. These would occassionaly be noted on the Bedford-Bletchley service (first seen was L701 on 14 November 1992^[3]), but they also took over the Gospel Oak - Barking services.

While working these services set L722 (51345 + 51387) collided with a freight train at Wanstead Park on 18 February 1995^[4]. The vehicles were noted dumped at East Ham depot on 11 March with the cab of 51387, which took the impact, sheeted over^[5]. Both would be withdrawn in October, 51387 would be cut up at East Ham by staff from Gwent Demolition^[6] while 51345 would go to MC Metals at Springburn.

Tyseley

In 1991 some of these sets began to be "facelifted" and repainted into Regional Railways livery with a matching 117 3xx set number (for example T306 became 117306).

The electric services were introduced on the Birmingham to Lichfield Trent Valley route on Monday 30 November 1992, however a shortage of available EMUs meant that the 117s were still retained on some of these services (and Tyseley's 4-car sets on the Birmingham-Redditch Cross-City South route^[7].

The reduced diagrams allowed some of the sets to move to other areas. T309 would be transferred to HQ and then go on hire to TML in November for Channel Tunnel work. In May 1993 sets would move to Haymarket (117314) and Penzance (T304 without the centre car), July departures included 117301/6/8 to Haymarket and 117305/7 to LA.

A headboard was carried on services on 11 September 1993 to mark the "DMU Farewell" when the Redditch route was turned over to Class 323s, but failures with these new EMUs saw DMUs continue on the route for a few months more.

Scotland

The Scottish Region would receive sets in 1993 allocated to Haymarket depot. These would operate the Fife Circle services, from Edinburgh to Edinburgh via Dunfermline/Kirkcaldy in peak periods only, and a single run to Perth. Each Haymarket set would visit Inverness depot to have NRN equipment fitted.

The image shows set 117 313 at Edinburgh Waverley on 12/8/94. John Reddyhoff.

When 51415 sustained fire damage it was replaced in 117310 by 51381 in August 1995.

Plymouth Laira

After a five year absence the Class returned to the South-West allocation books with the power cars from L415 (51351 + 51393) being reinstated to Laira (from HQ) in February 1993. Still in NSE livery it would be noted on workings such as Plymouth-Penzance. It would be joined by a second set power twin, T304 (51365 + 51407) arriving from Tyseley in May 1993, and in July two three-car sets also arrived from Tyseley — 117305 and T307 — the first being the GWR liveried set.

These would help out with the increased summer traffic and were spotted at places such as St Ives, Newquay and Looe. At the end of the season L415 was returned to HQ and T307 to Tyseley as a two-car, the centre car being withdrawn.

The other two sets remained until May the following year (1994), which was the last year that Laira had a first generation DMU allocation. The remaining vehicles departed in May, T304 to HQ, 117305 and Met-Camm set L842 (both three-car sets) to Penzance. T304 had suffered damage from a derailment, and was probably intended to move to Penzance too but was withdrawn instead.

Penzance

Penzance gained a DMU allocation in May 1994 with three 117 power-twins — two from Tyseley (708) and one from Bletchley — and the GWR-liveried three-car set from Laira. Also from Laira came a three-car Met-Camm set. The GWR set was used for the BLS "Devonport Docker" railtour on 29/5/94. The normal workings of the sets, sponsored by the South Wales & West TOU, would be the St Ives and Looe branches. The four 117 sets were:

117 305	51368	59520	51410	ex-Laira	GWR
117 708/L708	51336		51378	ex-Tyseley	NSE
117 709	51344		51386	ex-Tyseley	NSE
117 723/L723	51361		51399	ex-Bletchley	NSE

Two DMBS vehicles formed as a power twin - 51361 + 51344 - were loaned to the Cardiff Valleys TOU at the end of September 1994 for driver training.^[8]

1995 saw set 708 and the Met-Camm got to Doncaster Works for overhaul in the Spring. Both the Penzance centre cars — GWR liveried 59520 and the Met-Camm — were also moved to Doncaster around the same time, but for spares only^[9]. Circa June 51333/75 arrived from Tyseley — it only lasted for the summer season moving on to Bletchley in early October. At the same time two DMSs were withdrawn, 51399 (from 723) and 51410 (from 305), as were the two centre cars now at Doncaster. The two DMBSs this left were paired together.

The end of the year saw three 117 sets remain at Penzance, as well as a 101 power twin:

117 305	51368	51361	GWR/NSE
117 708/L708	51336	51378	NSE
117 709	51344	51386	NSE

The image shows 51378 on the rear of set L708 leaving St Erth for St Ives on 4th August 1995, still carrying NSE livery and London set number. Ian Buck.

Their use (and the one 101 power-twin it had) ended at Easter 1997 and the vehicles were moved to store at Exeter St Davids^[10].

The Final Years

As the Class was run down their final days were spent based at Bletchley and Haymarket.

A survey of the sets in stock in December 1997 showed:

Set	Livery	Depot	DMBS	TC	DMS
301	RR	HA	51353	59505	51395
306	RR	HA	51369	59521	51411
308	RR	HA	51371	59509	51413
310	RR	HA	51373	59486	51381
311	RR	HA	51334	59500	51376
313	RR	HA	51339	59492	51382
444	B/G	CQ	51360	59490	51402
700	NSE	BY	51332	-	51374
701	NSE	BY	51350	-	51392
702	NSE	BY	51356	-	51398
704	NSE	BY	51341	-	51381
705	NSE	BY	51358	-	51400
706	NSE	BY	51366	-	51408
707	NSE	BY	51335	-	51377
720	NSE	BY	51354	-	51396
721	NSE	BY	51363	-	51405
724	NSE	BY	51333	-	51375

Livery: RR - Regional Railways; B/G - Blue/Grey; NSE - Network South East

The Open Golf Championship held in Carnoustie in July 1999 saw 117s work special trains for the event. Noted workings were on Friday the 16th when sets 306/313 worked the 16:47 Carnoustie to Edinburgh, on the Saturday the 08:30 from Edinburgh was 301/311, the 09:00 313/306, and the 09:15 was 308, all to Carnoustie. The normal 117 diagrams on the Fife Circle were covered by 158s.

They were not favoured by commuters, and late in 1999 they were reduced to 2-car sets. Soon after, once the arrival of the 170s allowed cascading of Sprinters they were taken out of use at very short notice - the last booked working on the 28th November was worked by a Sprinter. They were sent to store at Perth during the remainder of thier lease from Angel Train Contracts and suffered some vandalism there. They moved south in March 2000 to another period in store at MoD Shoeburyness.

At the end of May 2000, as well as the six 3-car ex-Scotrail sets, ten ex-Silverlink 117 vehicles were also at Shoeburyness, and three cars were in store at Bletchley (117 702 and 51400).

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References

1. ^⋏ Railway Magazine, August 1967 p471
2. ^⋏ p265/6 July 1968 Railway Observer
3. ^⋏ "Multiple Matters" p54 23 December 1992 Rail
4. ^⋏ p151 April 1995 Railway Observer
5. ^⋏ "Multiple Units" by David Russell, p53 29 March 1995 Rail
6. ^⋏ p109 March 1996 Railway Observer
7. ^⋏ "Cross-City goes electric" p6 6 January 1993 Rail
8. ^⋏ "South Wales heritage return" p58 26 October 1994 Rail
9. ^⋏ "Multiple Matters" p46 26 April 1995 Rail
10. ^⋏ p184 May 1997 Railway Observer

The Railway Observer is the journal of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society