The British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

 Class 117 diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s (DMUs) were built by Pressed Steel

Pressed Steel Company

The Pressed Steel Company Limited was a British car body manufacturing company founded at Cowley near Oxford in 1926 as a joint venture between William Morris, the Budd Corporation and an American bank. Today at what was the company's Cowley plant, the BMW new MINI is assembled, this site is...

 from 1959 to 1961.

When first introduced, these three-car units were all based with the similar Class 121

British Rail Class 121

Sixteen Class 121 single-car driving motor vehicles were built from 1960, numbered 55020–55035. These were supplemented by ten trailer vehicles, numbered 56280–56289 . They had a top speed of 70 mph, with slam-doors, and vacuum brakes...

 single carriage (railcar) units on British Railway's Western Region

Western Region of British Railways

The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...

 for suburban work out of London Paddington, as well as South Wales (specifically Cardiff) and Cornwall. The units were largely based at Southall, Cardiff Canton and Plymouth Laira

Laira TMD

Laira TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Plymouth, Devon, England. The depot is operated by First Great Western and is mainly concerned with the overhaul and daily servicing of their fleet of High Speed Trains and also the DMUs used on local services...

 depots. The units remained here for many years working these services.

Later operations

In the 1980s, expiry of other DMUs facilitated moves for some units from the Western Region to Birmingham, as below, and Scotland, prior to the delivery of new units to replace them. They were given refurbishments.

The first shake up in ownership occurred in the late 1980s, when the Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Birmingham based units were transferred to Provincial Services, later Regional Railways

Regional Railways

Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1996, 3 years after privatisation. The sector was originally called Provincial....

, in the sectorisation of British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

, while the Southall based units transferred to Network SouthEast

Network SouthEast

Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...

.

They were replaced on the lines out of Paddington when the Class 165 'Network Turbo'

British Rail Class 165

The British Rail Class 165 Turbo is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple units , originally specified by and built for British Rail, the then United Kingdom state owned railway operator. They were built by BREL at York Works between 1990 and 1992...

 units came into service in the early 1990s.

They soldiered on on the former Western Region until replaced by Class 150

British Rail Class 150

The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...

 and Class 153

British Rail Class 153

The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...

 DMUs. An attempt was made to remove them from Cornish work using Class 142

British Rail Class 142

The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....

 "Skipper/Pacer" units, but these non bogie units proved to be a liability on the tight Cornish branchline curves, increasing rail and wheel wear, moving to the North of England instead. They were finally replaced with the advent of more Class 150s and Class 153s freed up from other areas. They continued to work in Scotland until the turn of the millennium, where they were replaced with class 150s and Class 170 Turbostar DMUs.

For many years, passenger services on the Birmingham Cross-City Line

Birmingham Cross-City Line

The Cross-City Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from Redditch, Worcestershire, its southern terminus, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, and services on the line are currently operated by London...

 were worked by elderly Class 117, along with Class 115

British Rail Class 115

The British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units were 41 high density sets which operated the outer-suburban services from Marylebone usually to destinations such as High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Banbury which are on the Chiltern Main Line and Great Central Main Line...

, 116

British Rail Class 116

The British Rail Class 116 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby from 1957 to 1961.-Regular use:These units stayed in regular service until 1990, when they began to be withdrawn from traffic. They were replaced on regional services by the new "Sprinter" derivative units, or by Class 323...

, 118

British Rail Class 118

The British Rail Class 118 diesel multiple units were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company and introduced from 1960....

 and 121

British Rail Class 121

Sixteen Class 121 single-car driving motor vehicles were built from 1960, numbered 55020–55035. These were supplemented by ten trailer vehicles, numbered 56280–56289 . They had a top speed of 70 mph, with slam-doors, and vacuum brakes...

 diesel multiple units, but all were withdrawn from service by 1995.

In 2000, Class 150 Sprinter

British Rail Class 150

The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...

 units replaced the Class 117 units on Silverlink

Silverlink

Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...

, finally bringing to an end decades of service on Britain's rail network in front line service.

Once in preservation it has since been discovered that the units had all sorts of Leyland 680 engine variants.. For example one unit was noted as having a Leyland 680/1 (150 BHP) and a Leyland 680-1595 (180 BHP) .

Preservation

Due to the type's longevity, several units have been preserved on heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

s.

Set number	Vehicle numbers			Livery	Location	Notes
	DMBS	TCL	DMS
117204	51365	-	51407	BR Green	Plym Valley Railway Plym Valley Railway The Plym Valley Railway is part of the closed South Devon and Tavistock Railway near Plymouth, a branch line of the Great Western Railway in Devon.The Plym Valley Railway is currently rebuilding the Marsh Mills to Plym Bridge section of the line...	Currently on loan to Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway
117301	51353	-	51395	Regional Railways	Swanage Railway Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...	Currently in store at private location
117310	51381	-	-	Regional Railways	Mangapps Railway Museum Mangapps Railway Museum The Mangapps Railway Museum is a heritage railway located near Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. The stretch of standard gauge track and museum are owned and operated by the Jolly family assisted by a dedicated staff of volunteers...	-
117311	51352	59505	51376	BR Green	West Somerset Railway West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...	Currently stored at , awaiting restoration.
117313	51339	-	51382	BR Green	Vale of Glamorgan Railway Vale of Glamorgan Railway The Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales...	Currently on loan to Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway
L701	-	-	51392	Network SouthEast	Swanage Railway Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...	Currently in store at private location
L702	51356	-	51398	Network SouthEast	Swanage Railway Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...	Currently in store at private location
117704	51341	-	-	Network SouthEast	Swanage Railway Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...	Currently in store at private location
117709	51359	-	-	Network SouthEast	Northampton & Lamport Railway Northampton & Lamport Railway The Northampton & Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly north of Northampton.-Overview:...	To be scrapped for spares
-	51342	-	51384	BR Green	Epping Ongar Railway Epping Ongar Railway The Epping Ongar Railway operates on a preserved railway along the final section of the old Great Eastern Railway and London Underground Central Line branch line between Epping and Ongar, with an intermediate station at North Weald...	Repainted into BR green from EOR dark blue livery
-	51346	59516	51388	BR Green	Swanage Railway Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...	-
117444	51360			BR Blue	Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Ecclesbourne Valley Railway The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a long heritage railway in Derbyshire, the headquarters of the railway centre around Wirksworth station and services operate between Wirksworth and Duffield and Wirksworth and Ravenstor...	Just had roof repaint
-	51347	59508	51401	BR Blue/Grey	Gwili Railway Gwili Railway The Gwili Steam Railway operates a standard gauge preserved railway from Abergwili Junction in South Wales along a short section of the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway that closed for passenger traffic in 1965, the track being lifted in 1975.The Gwili Railway was formed in 1974 and, by...	-
-	51367	59511	51402	BR Green	Strathspey Railway	51402 repainted, 51367 due repaint. Running as DMBS+DMS (59511 being restored).
-	51370	-	51412	BR Green	Chasewater Railway Chasewater Railway The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.The line is approximately two miles in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Country Park...	-
-	51372	-	-	BR Blue	Chasewater Railway Chasewater Railway The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.The line is approximately two miles in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Country Park...	-
-	-	-	51400	BR Green	Mid-Hants Railway Watercress Line The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage railway in Hampshire, England, running from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days that it was used to transport locally grown watercress to...	Main-line certificated by RESCO
-	51351	-	51397	Green	Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house southwards to the town of Blaenavon via a two-platform station at the site of former colliery furnace.The line is the highest...

External links