Built by Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd Introduced: 1958 Coupling Code: Blue Square Body: 64ft 6in x 9ft 3in Engines: BUT (AEC) of 150hp Transmission: Standard Mechanical
Their use was widespread throughout the Western Region and on services in the Midlands sourced by Tyseley Depot. Shortly after their introduction, sets were transferred from Cardiff to work the outer suburban services to Oxford. These were as 7 car sets, with the addition of Hawksworth composites adapted to run as DMU trailers.
Sets worked over most of the Western Region, notable early use being the last passenger train over the Plympton branch. Minehead, Calne and Bridport branches that have since closed were also served by the sets, which also covered main line services in company with the Swindon Cross Country sets.
Visually, the body design was based on the Swindon Cross-Country sets, but with a Derby cab.
As with most asbestos contaminated stock, there were heavy withdrawals, but a number were rebuilt internally after asbestos removal. The rebuilt sets were concentrated on Reading and the Reading-Gatwick link.
A lot of this route is flatwater, scarcely Class I, but watch out for occasional rapids and the usual litany of wild-water hazards: fallen trees, logs, etc. The entire trip runs for 119 miles (195 km), with rapids to Class III as well as one Class IV.
The river is maximum Class II, with the exception of a Class IV waterfall.
Prominent are the ghostly stands of trees, rising silent from the water, a legacy of the 165-foot (50-m) climb in water levels when the dam was built.
BritishRail produced a variety of Railbuses as a means both of building new rolling stock cheaply, and to provide services on lightly-used lines economically.
A Class142 at Manchester Victoria station The BritishRailClass142 is a class of pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom.
The BritishRailClass960 was reserved for former diesel multiple units converted for departmental use, and former electrical multiple units rebuilt as test trains.
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