Class 119 GRC&W Cross-Country 3-car DMUs
Operations
The first two sets were delivered in September 1958 to Bristol, being formed as power twins. Captions of images showing two-car sets in the green era often mention that the set is "running with the centre car removed", yet as there were three centre cars less than the matching power cars, two-car sets could be expected. Whether two-cars sets were deliberately ordered for certain routes, or whether additional power cars were ordered to allow for maintenance, is unknown.
Overall fifteen sets would be delivered new to Bristol (including the three two-cars), ten to Cardiff, and three to Tyseley (then a WR depot). The last set was delivered in January 1960.
Their use was widespread throughout the Western Region and on services into the Midlands. The sets appear to have been associated with the Bristol-Weymouth workings from their introduction, from Bristol other workings included to Minehead and Portsmouth Harbour. Workings from Cardiff included Pembroke Dock, Cardiff and Tyseley sets worked services between Birmingham and Cardiff and Swansea. Photographs have been seen showing sets on the Bromyard branch and on the Cambrian coast line.
On April 11 1959 a set worked the Railway Enthusiasts Club "The Devon Rambler" tour from Exeter around Devon. Another tour they worked in this early period was the SLS Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction and District tour on May 14 1960 with a Derby suburban triple.
By September 1961 Bristol sets were working the Paddington outer suburban services to Oxford. These were often seen as seven-car sets, two three-cars with the addition of a Hawksworth composite adapted to run as a DMU trailer. The image shows a seven-car set at Reading, date unknown. Adrian Vaughan.
As many Western Region lines closed, notable early use being the last passenger train over the Plympton branch. They also worked over the now closed Calne and Bridport branches.
Tyseley
In July 1962 five sets moved from Cardiff to Tyseley, giving Tyseley eight sets. It was still a Western Region depot at this point — but on 1/1/63 boundary changes saw the vehicles transferred to the London Midland Region.
In the mid-1960s, a Tyseley based set was scheduled to work what was known in the Chester/Wirral area as "the Leamington" - a Leamington Spa - Birkenhead service which, prior to be taken over by one of these sets, had usually been hauled by a "Hall" class 4-6-0 as far as Chester. One of these sets is seen here passing Port Sunlight in 1966. The style of the yellow panel shows that the last repaint had taken place at Swindon. David Faircloth.
Chester
In 1967 the eight Tyseley sets moved to Chester. They remained there until 1977 when eight sets moved to the Western Region in exchange for Class 120s. The final set, 51057 + 59414 + 51100 stayed until October 1979 when it moved to Cardiff, again in exchange for a 120 (50648 + 59296 + 50706).
Reading and Scotland
The shrinkage of the system and the reduced need for sets, particularly two-cars, led to two sets of power cars (51053/61 and 51081/89) being transferred to Reading in 1964. There they formed sets 500 and 501, and were both painted blue with small yellow panels by March 1967. They normally worked Newbury - Westbury locals, but W51061 made a rare visit into Paddington substituting for W51373 in Reading Pressed Steel set 332 on March 31 1967[1].
In a major shake-up of the WR fleet ready for the Summer 1968 timetable, the two sets were replaced at Reading by two two-car Swindon Cross-Country sets (51574/9 with 51583/8) arriving from Laira[2].
Inverness
The two GRC&W sets were transferred to Inverness depot in late April 1968 to assist in a shortage of Class 120 power cars. They were found to be unsuitable[3] and never noted in traffic there. They sat outside the depot out of use, and were withdrawn in December that year. Afterwards, they remained for some time in the carriage sidings where they were used for spare parts for the depot's Class 120s. They were in plain blue livery with yellow panels, and can be seen in this image. In April 1970 W51061 was noted being being hauled from Corkerhill to Ayr for further stripping of spares and then back to Corkerhill via Cowlairs. It still carried its Reading set number 500 stencilled on both ends. Disposal for the four vehicles was by T.J. Thomson (Stockton) in September 1970.
There would be no more withdrawals until 1985, demonstrating that this was one of the most successful DMU types.
Plymouth
Laira gained its first allocation of the type when six sets were transferred from Bristol in March 1971. Set P583 would work the last passenger service to Okehampton on 3 June 1973[4] (the line reopened in 2021).
The image shows set P588 at Exeter St. Davids in April 1975 with 51107 closest. Robert Frise Collection.
The arrival of Met-Camm sets at Bristol in May 1979 allowed Class 119 sets 573 and 577-80 to move to Reading.
By the end of 1982 almost all the vehicles were allocated to Reading depot. One of the main services they operated from here was onto the Southern Region with a Reading-Gatwick Airport link, and the former SR line to Guildford / Redhill and Tonbridge. This appears to the first time that SR drivers would handle diesel-mechanical units in regular use, and they seem to have appreciated the larger cab windows than their own units (knicknaming them 'Glasshouses'), but found them very different to drive, particularly in challenging weather conditions.
Other Sets visited Skegness from Tyseley and provided the last conventional DMU service to the resort.
A book on the Central Wales line also suggests that one set was used while the line was severed at Glanrhyd. Stock redundant from Reading went to Tyseley for further service in the Midlands, from there they would operate routes such as to Skegness.
Newcastle
Two redundant sets from Cardiff (one with a Class 118 centre car) went to the Heaton depot in September 1987 to help out during Pacer difficulties, which saw the Class reach places in the North East such as Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Whitby.
Set L575 was transferred to Tyseley in January 1993, leaving just two sets (L588 + L594) on the Western Region. At Tyseley it was formed into a power twin (51060 + 51088, set T575) centre car 59419 going into set T322 replacing Class 115 59735. The red stripe on the power cars was painted blue. All three vehicles were withdrawn in June 1993.
Channel Tunnel
Tyseley had also had set T596 which had arrived from Reading in September 1992 to help on Cross-City service as a power-twin (51076 + 51099), centre car 59416 was formed into a hybrid set. Electrification that November meant the set was surplus, in January 1993 it would be reformed as a three-car then go on hire to TML for use on Channel Tunnel staff trains based at Cheriton which lasted until September.
The last set
The last set to survive - 51073 and 51104 - were noted in Rail magazine on a driver training diagram that took it via Peterborough to Norwich in 1995. Afterwards they were sent to Penzance in mid-July 1995 (they are pictured in the depot on 4th August 1995, Ian Buck) with the intention of covering the service to St Ives. Unfortunately too much work was required to make them servicable. 51073 had been part stripped and required replacements of major parts such as a gearbox,[5] and they were withdrawn in June 1995, marking the end of the Class. They were sent to Gwent Demolition in August 11th 1995.[6]
References
- ⋏ May 1967, p170 Railway Observer
- ⋏ July 1968, p265 Railway Observer
- ⋏ "Motive power miscellany" p526 November 1968 Railway World (Ian Allan)
- ⋏ "Closure", History page of The Dartmoor Line website accessed 22 November 2021
- ⋏ September 1995, p391 Railway Observer
- ⋏ October 1995, p439 Railway Observer
The Railway Observer is the journal of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society