British Diesels and Electrics: December 2020

Class 156 (Metro-Cammell Provincial Sector 2-Car)

The Class 156 was the largest class of "Super Sprinter" built for the Regional Railways arm of British Rail in the late 1980s. The units replaced first generation DMUs and loco hauled trains. The Class 156 has a low-density layout [1] designed for outer suburban and regional routes, it is similar to the Class 153 and 155 DMUs with much of the same equipment used [2].

EMR 156 413 approaches Sileby

Information
Number built:	228 (114 2-car sets)
Built:	1987-89
Builder:	Metro Cammell
Engine:	Cummins NT855R5 diesel per car
Power:	520 hp (426 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Standard Lavatory (DMSL)+Driving Motor Standard (DMS)

They are currently operated by East Midlands Railway, ScotRail and Northern. They have also been operated by a number of earlier companies including Greater Anglia, Central Trains and originally British Rail of course. They are among the most reliable trains in service today.

British Rail considered converting some Class 156s to single-car DMUs as the Class 152 for branch lines but in the end Class 155s were converted instead to form the Class 153.

EMR 156 406 at Sileby

EMR 156 917 at Derby

EMR 156 413 at Belper

EMR 156 414 at Derby

EMR 156 497 at Longport

[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 138
[2] Brian Haresnape, Diesel Multiple Units: The Second Generation & DEMUs (Ian Allan, 1986) p. 79

London Underground 1935 Tube Stock

The London Passenger Transport Board planned a series of extensions to the London Underground in the late 1930s and therefore would require a new fleet of rolling stock. The 1935 Tube Stock was a small experimental fleet of twelve two-car sets (which were marshalled into four six-car trains). The new trains were the first to have the motors and electrical control equipment underneath the frame which freed up more space in the motor cars for passengers as compared to the previous generation Standard Stock.

Streamlined 1935 Tube Stock [4]

Information
Number built:	24 (12 2-car sets)
Built:	1936
Builder:	Metropolitan Cammell
Motor:	Crompton Parkinson C200 electric motor (600v DC fourth rail)
Power:	1, 656 hp (1, 235 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor (DM) + DM

As the trains were experimental, four different types of motor control equipment was used for evaluation [1] though all trains were compatible with each other. The most notable external feature was the Art Deco style streamlining of three of the trains (a Standard Stock driving motor had already been fitted with a streamlined front end in 1933 though not used in passenger service [2]). The sides of the trains were also made smoother, including using flush-fitting windows with the aim of reducing wear and tear and aiding cleaning.

These trains had the driver seat located centrally in the cab with the brake and master controller handles on either side akin to aeroplane joysticks. However, drivers did not like this arrangement and the streamlining was found to be unnecessary due to the speeds tube trains usually travel at! The fourth train was built with conventional cabs and flat cab ends. This design was carried through to the production 1938 Tube Stock which were based on the flat-fronted trains [3].

The trains were used on the Underground in the late 1930s but were put into storage during the Second World War due to the difficulty in maintaining the non-standard equipment. In 1947 the streamlined trains were converted into trailers to supplement the 1938 Tube Stock fleet, the last remained in service until 1976. The flat fronted trains were used on shuttle trains on the Central Line and for some development work. The last was scrapped in the mid-1970s.

[1] Brian Hardy, Underground Train File Tube Stock 1933-1959 (Capital Trainsport, 2001) p. 59

[2] Piers Connor, The London Underground Electric Train (Crowood Press, 2015) p.127

[3] Hardy p. 63

[4] "Streamlined London Tube Trains", Meccano Magazine (February 1937) p. 77

Lion

In the early 1960s British Railways issued a specification for a new Type 4 diesel locomotive, more powerful than earlier types [1]. A number of prototypes were built, privately funded by the manufacturers. The Birmingham Railway Wagon & Carriage Company, in partnership with Sulzer and AEI, built the rather striking prototype Lion.

Lion passing Tilehurst [4]

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1962
Builder:	Birmingham Railway Wagon & Carriage Company
Motor:	Sulzer 12LDA28-C diesel
Power:	2, 750 hp (2, 050 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Co-Co

Lion visually resembled one of the other prototypes, the Class 53 Falcon and the Class 35 Hymek thanks to design supervision from Wilkes & Ashmore. Lion was given a striking but rather impractical all-over white livery, even the underframe and bogies! Mechanically Lion was a development of the Peaks such as the Class 44 though with a twin-bank Sulzer engine and lower weight.

Lion's working life was short, being only used for about a year. Evaluation mostly took place in BR's Western and Eastern regions [2] and not without technical problems [3]. BR decided to award Brush Traction the contract for the Class 47. Lion itself was withdrawn in 1964 and broken up, though the engine was reused in a production Class 47.

[1] David Lawrence, British Rail Designed 1948-67 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 139

[2] Colin J Marsden, Diesel & Electric Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2011) p. 36

[3] Lawrence p. 141

[4] "A study in diesels", Meccano Magazine (February 1964) p. 585

Liverpool Corporation Tramways Baby Grand Car

The Baby Grands were the last of a series of streamlined trams built at the Liverpool Corporation Edge Lane works in the 1930s and early 1940s to modernise the Corporation's fleet. The Baby Grands were a simpler, smaller (and therefore cheaper) single truck (which was EMB built) version of the double bogie Streamliner tram which had a high power consumption [1]. The Baby Grand fleet mostly survived until the end of Liverpool Corporation Tramway in 1957.

245 at the Wirral Tramway Museum

Information
Number built:	100
Built:	1937-42
Builder:	Liverpool Corporation
Motor:	2 BTH 116 electric motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	120 hp (89 kW)

Two Baby Grands has been preserved, 245 was one of the trams which took part in the final parade before Liverpool's tram system shut down. It has now been restored back to running order by the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society. Tram 293, which made the final trips on the tram network, is at the Seashore Trolley Museum in the USA.

245 alongside slightly older trams

Another view of 245

[1] Martin Jenkins & Charles Roberts, Merseyside Transport Recalled (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 27

Class 144 Pacer (Walter Alexander / BREL Derby Local & Secondary Services 2 and 3-car)

The Class 144 Pacer was a follow-on from the Class 143. It has a Walter Alexander built body almost identical to the 143 but with a chassis built by BREL Derby.

Northern 144 008 at Sheffield

Information
Number built:	56 (23 2 and 3-car sets)
Built:	1986-86
Builder:	BREL Derby & Walter Alexander
Engine:	Cummins LTA10-R diesel per car
Power:	450/675 hp (330/495 kW)
Formation:	(2-car) Driving Motor Standard (DMS)+ Driving Motor Standard Lavatory (DMSL) (3-car) DMS+Motor Standard (MS)+DMSL

The Class 144 was ordered for services in West Yorkshire [1]. To cope with an increase in passengers West Yorkshire PTE later ordered 10 extra Motor Standard trailers to augment ten trains to 3-cars. These were the only vehicles in the large Pacer fleet to have no driving cabs. The Class 144 was originally built with Leyland TL11 engines but these were later replaced by Cummins diesels. The original transmission has also been replaced with a Voith diesel-hydraulic system [2].

As with the rest of the Pacer fleet the Class 144s were withdrawn during 2020. One Class 144 was experimentally modified as the Class 144e (for Evolution) to meet future accessibility standards and had an accessible toilet and a new interior/seating [3], however no others were modified to 144e standard and replacement stock was instead ordered.

Thirteen Class 144s have been preserved with a number of others sold on for non-railway use including a couple which will become school classrooms!

Three car 144 020 at York

Northern 144 013 at Sheffield

Pacer front end comparison: Northern 142 023 and 144 020 at York

Northern 144 017 at Sheffield

[1] Brian Haresnape, Diesel Multiple Units: The Second Generation and DEMUs (Ian Allan, 1986) p. 78
[2] Colin J. Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 127
[3] Colin J. Marsden, Rail Guide 2016 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 91

Robert Hudson Fordson "Go-Go Tractors"

The Fordson tractor was a mass produced tractor built by the Ford Motor Company from 1917 onwards, Robert Hudson adapted the engine, gearbox and drivetrain to create a locomotive that could run off petrol, diesel and other fuels. The "Go-Go Tractor", as it was referred to, was produced from the 1920s onwards. The Ford engine was connected to the tractor axle via a roller chain. The resulting locomotive was simple, one major drawback was that as it utilised the original tractor gearbox it had three gears in one direction and only one in the other, not so much a problem for an agricultural tractor but a limitation for a bi-direction locomotive.

36863 / 1929 at the Statfold Barn Railway

Information
Builder:	Robert Hudson
Motor:	Ford 4-cyl various fuels
Power:	20 hp (15 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	4wPM or 4wDM

The two Go-Go Tractors pictured operated on petrol or paraffin. Both are preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway and are 610mm gauge.

39924 / 1924 at Statfold Barn, formerly worked at Cairngryffe Quary in Lanarkshire

Another view of 36863

Class 175 Coradia 1000

The Class 175 is part of the Coradia DMU family, along with the Class 180. They were built for long-distance services in Wales and the North West in the early privatised railway years [1]. The fleet was originally operated by First North Western, then Wales & Borders before being transferred to Arriva Trains Wales in 2004. Nowadays they are operated by ATW's successor Transport for Wales. Some were leased to First TransPennine Express for a time.

Transport for Wales 175 008 at Shrewsbury

Information
Number built:	70 (27 2 or 3-car sets)
Built:	1999-2001
Builder:	Alstom Birmingham
Motor:	Cummins N14 diesel per car
Power:	900 hp (670 kW) / 1, 350hp (1, 005kW)
Formation:	(175/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL (175/1) DMSL+MSL (Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL

The Class 175 has two sub-classes, the 175/0 being 2-car sets (eleven sets) and the 175/1 3-car (sixteen sets). All Class 175 cars are powered, and - importantly for long-range routes - have toilets!