Class 121 Pressed Steel Single / 2-car DMUs
Operations
The units took over services originally monopolised by GWR built railcars but as more and more cross country and branch lines closed that work became less and less. Consequently, the class was concentrated around the Reading, Bristol, Cardiff and Plymouth areas. They were used on the West London branch lines, the Severn Beach branch, lines in the Welsh valleys and the Cornish branch lines.
The image shows W56284 and W55034 on a typical Class 121 duty, the Slough at Windsor and Eton Central shuttle on 6th November 1978 Ian Buck.
They could frequently be seen standing in for power cars in other sets, mainly Class 117s.
For the first 25 years of service the units were concentrated solely on the Western Region, in 1986 three moved to Tyseley. By 1994 there were no passenger cars working on the Western Region, the four remaining were at Bletchley. These lasted until 2001.
In 2003 the first of three vehicles was returned to passenger use from sandite use / preservation keeping the Class in passnger use for another 14 years with Chiltern Railways and Arriva Trains Wales, ending in 2017.
1960s
The majority of the vehicles were delivered to Southall and Reading depots. Three vehicles, 55032-4 were delivered to Bristol.
On the 1st August 1962 a DTS was noted at Paddington working attached to a GRC&W parcel unit.[1]
The London area vehicles could be found on services such as Newbury - Didcot (until the line closed in September 1962), Staines to West Drayton (closed March 1965), the Henley branch line (Twyford - Henley-on-Thames), Oxford - Reading, to Windsor & Eton Central (often with a trailer) and the Marlow branch.
The Bristol vehicles could be found on the Clevedon branch (closed 3 October 1966), the Bridport branch (great feature on an external site) from Maiden Newton (closed 5 May 1975), and the Lyme Regis branch (from March 1965 till closure 29 November 1965[2]).
In 1962 55033 was at Laira and noted on Truro - Falmouth services. It would later return to Bristol.
In 1964 55035 was transferred from Bristol to Cardiff Canton. The move is listed as November, but it was noted working the Pembroke Dock branch in April, as seen in the image taken on April 7th 1964 at Tenby. Tim Stubbs.
In April 1968 Southall lost its allocation of the type when they all moved to Reading.
The first withdrawal of the Class was on February 15, 1969 when trailer W56288 was withdrawn from Reading.
1970s
At the turn of the decade the allocations were:
Reading: 7 power cars (20-24 and 30/31) and all the remaining 9 trailers.
Cardiff: 2 power cars (25/26)
Laira: 2 power cars (27/29)
Bristol: 5 power cars (28/32-35)
The increased number of vehicles at Bristol allowed then to also work on Severn Beach services. Plymouth vehicles would work on Liskeard - Looe services.
Eric Stuart notes: "at one time one use was to add on to Cross-Country units working the Newport - Shrewsbury - Crewe line. They were used to boost the available power. I recall that they were locked and had signs on the windows stating that they could only be used if specifically authorised by the Guard (presumably if the main unit was packed). One could see trains of two Cross-Country units, each with its 121 - the CCs in blue and grey and the 121 in blue!"
The image shows 55025 leading two class 120s on the 1125 Cardiff - Crewe at Bromfield north of Ludlow on June 2nd 1973. Andrew Cope.
It wasn't just the Class 121 power cars that would be found working with the Cross-Country sets on the Central Wales route, the driver trailers also worked with two-car Class 120s. W56285 was on loan from Reading to Canton from July 1973 till the end of the year when W56289 was sent, it returned to Reading in May 1975.
The image shows W55034 on the Bridport branch, working the 10:35 from Maiden Newton in April 1975. Robert Frise Collection.
In 1978, after a short period in store 55035 became the first power car to be withdrawn from passenger use. It would be transferred to departmental use a route learner.
1980s
At the turn of the decade the allocations of the passenger vehicles were:
Reading: 9 power cars (20-23, 28-31, 34) and all the remaining 8 trailers
Laira: 4 power cars (28-28)
Bristol: 2 power cars (32/33)
In 1986 three vehicles (55032-34) were transferred to Tyseley, now under Midland Region control, and used on local services around Birmingham on services such as Strourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction and Leamington Spa - Stratford-upon-Avon. 55033 would be painted into Midline colours.
The next three images by Mike Cooper were taken at Paddington in January 1988. First, two 121s added to a 3-car 101, and then two 121s added to a 3-car high density set. Finally a trio of 121s with a 2-car 101.
1990s
At the turn of the decade the allocations of the passenger vehicles were:
Old Oak Common: 11 power cars (20-25, 27-31) and 4 trailers (80/83/87/89)
Laira: 1 power car (26) and 1 trailer (84)
Tyseley: 3 power cars (32-34)
The Old Oak Common fleet were used turn and turn about with the allocation of Class 117 driving cars as well as singly on the West London Branches.
In 1993 55023, along with route learner 977723 (55021), was transferred from Old Oak to Bletchley for use on the Bletchley to Bedford line and the other diesel powered lines then under North London Railway's control. In due course four Class 121s were to be resident at Bletchley, 55023, 55027, 55029 and 55031. 55023 was repainted into green in March 1993 and 55027, 55029 and 55031 were in NSE livery.
Upon privatisation in 1997, only four vehicles remained in passenger service (55023/27/29/31) with North London Railways (later Silverlink) based at Bletchley. Used mainly on the Marston Vale Bletchley - Bedford line, they could also be found on other routes such as Gospel Oak - Barking.
The image shows 55027 and 55031 at Bletchley working the 11:50 to Bedford on 2/2/99. Sparegang.
The operator of the Marks Tey - Sudbury branch, Great Eastern, required a diesel unit for this service (all its other routes were electrified). It was using a Class 153 hired from Anglia, but that lease was cut short in September 1997, and in its place Bletchley bubbles were borrowed until another Class 153 was obtained for the summer 1998 timetable. At least 55031 was given stickers with the Great Eastern branding and the route logo on the van side changed to Marks Tey - Sudbury.[3]
They were replaced by Class 150s in 2001.
Chiltern Railways
55020 was resurrected from a sandite car for a return to passenger use for Chiltern Railways. After refurbishment at LH Plant it began operating the Aylesbury to Princes Risborough shuttle from 2003.
The image shows 55020 (set 121020) working a morning Aylesbury to Princes Risborough service past Marsh Crossing (just south of Aylesbury), on Friday 13th June 2003 Iain Reid.
Arriva Trains Wales
55032 had been in preservation at Crewe until bought by Arriva Trains Wales in 2005 for use on the Cardiff Bay branch. It was extensivly overhauled at LNWR's Crewe depot before being hauled south in June 2006. After some driver training on the Barry Tourist Railway it entered traffic on August 16th. It was withdrawn just three days later with engine troubles. It returning to service on the 14th September but reliability remained an issue thoughout its revival. The image show it at Cardiff Bay on 16/09/06. Phil Trotter.
It was sold to Chiltern Railways in March 2013, who put it into storage at Aylesbury, and it was again sold back to preservation in 2015.
55034 was another vehicle once preserved that returned to mainline passenger use. Following Chiltern's success with 55020, they added this vehicle to work with 55020 from May 2011. It carried BR green with yellow panel, the image show it arriving into Princes Risborough empty stock from Aylesbury on April 19, 2016, in readiness for two return trips from Princes Risborough, the first departing at 17.00. Stephen Burdett.
The Winter 2016/2017 Chiltern Bubble Car Diagram was as follows:
06:35 Aylesbury (AYS)-Princes Risborough (PRR)
07:19 PRR-AYS
07:46 AYS-PRR
08:23 PRR-AYS
08:48 AYS-PRR
09:16 PRR-AYS
16:19 AYS-PRR Empty Coaching Stock
17:00 PRR-AYS
17:26 AYS-PRR
18:06 PRR-AYS
The Aylesbury - Princes Risborough shuttle ended in 2017, marking the end of first generation DMU use in passenger use on the network.