Derby Lightweight (Yellow Diamond) 1, 2 & 4-car DMUs
Operations
Summary
The first batch (M79008-20 + M79600-12) were for West Cumberland, operating on three lines: Carlisle to Silloth; Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith line; and the Carlisle - Maryport - Workington - Whitehaven line.
Delivered next were sets for Lincolnshire (E79021-33 + E79613-25), working to Lincoln, Cleethorpes, New Holland, Skegness & Boston.
These were followed by E79034-46 + E79250-62 for East Anglia, operating from Norwich to Dereham & Wells, Ipswich, Yarmouth, Cromer, Sheringham & Holt, Lowestoft, and Dereham to Kings Lynn. Transfers saw some spend time at Stratford (workings included the Romford to Upminster and Wickford to Southminster services) and Cambridge.
The North Eastern Region four-car sets (E79150-4 + E79325-9 + E79400-4 + E79508-12) which were introduced on Newcastle to Middlesborough services and later worked to Carlisle amongst other routes. Newcastle would also receive two-car sets E79137-40 + E79658-61 nominally for Hexham services.
The LMR two-car sets would operate services from Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, in North Wales on between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno and Bangor and Amlwch, and the Manchester area. Many LMR sets would later move to Carlisle.
The Region also received two single cars to work the Buckingham to Banbury line, and into Bletchley.
Sets would run excursions onto the Southern Region. Some NER sets were borrowed by the Western Region to cover shortages at Cardiff, and surplus sets would move to the Scottish Region.
The image shows Derby Lightweight and Met-Camm Lightweight approaching Norwich on the 16th May 1964. Tim Stubbs.
Not all branch lines gained enough traffic to escape closure, and with such a large DMU building programme it was realised that many were surplus. As the Lightweights were non-standard they were destined for early retiral, with the last withdrawn from passenger use in 1969.