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 122 diesel mechanical 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 were built by Gloucester RC&W

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based at Gloucester, England; from 1860 until 1986....

 in 1958. Twenty single-car driving motor vehicles, called "Bubble Cars", were built, numbered 55000–55019. These were supplemented by ten trailer vehicles, numbered 56290–56299 (later renumbered 54290–54299).

Initial use

The Class 122s were built mainly for use on the London Midland Region of British Rail, although some were also used in Scotland. They were used on a variety of lightly used lines, many of which were closed during the Beeching Axe

Beeching Axe

The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...

 in the 1960s. Routes served included the Stourbridge Town

Stourbridge Town railway station

Stourbridge Town is a railway station near the centre of Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. It is situated at the end of a short branch line linking the station with Stourbridge Junction just 0.8 miles away, where passengers can change for mainline train services...

 and St Albans Abbey

St Albans Abbey railway station

St Albans Abbey railway station serves the city of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England, being situated about 1 km south of the city centre in the St Stephen's area of the city. It is the terminus of the Abbey Line from Watford Junction, which is part of the London Midland franchise...

 branch lines, as well as local services between Dundee

Dundee railway station

Dundee railway station serves the city of Dundee on the east coast of Scotland. The station has two through platforms and two terminal platforms...

 and Arbroath

Arbroath railway station

Arbroath railway station serves the town of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland. The station is east of Dundee on the line between Dundee and Aberdeen.- History :There have been three stations called "Arbroath", two of which closed in 1848...

. (The similar Pressed Steel Company built 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 units were used on the Western Region).

Parcels use

Three Scottish Region cars (55013–55015) were converted to carry parcels traffic and were reclassified Class 131, though the vehicles themselves were not renumbered.

Usage after passenger service

number	former number	use	disposal/current use	cut up date
TDB 975023	55001	Route learning car	Preserved	East Lancs Rail
TDB 975042	55019	Route learning car / Sandite	Still in use with Chiltern, set 960 015
TDB 975227	55017	Route learning car	Vic Berry	2/89
975309	55008	Route learning car	Mayer Newman	11/84
TDB 975310	55010	Route learning car	Mayer Newman	6/84
TDB 975540	55016	Route learning car	MC Metals	7/93
TDB 975994	55014	Test & stores car	Vic Berry	10/88
975998	55013	unknown	Mayer Newman	3/82
TDB 977177	55015	Route learning car	MC Metals	7/90
TDB 977223	55007	Route learning car	MC Metals	6/91
977941	55012	Route learner	Loadhaul then EWS	Stored at Thornaby, sold, buyer unknown

Current operations

Upon privatisation of Britain's railways, the Class 122 fleet has been withdrawn from normal service. However several units were operated by EWS and Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 (previously Railtrack

Railtrack

Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

) in departmental service, reclassified as Class 960. These are listed below.

Unit no.	Vehicle no.		Livery	Operator	Use	Status
	Departmental no.	Former no.
122012	977941	55012	Load-Haul	DB Schenker	Route-learning unit	Preserved, location not known
960015	975042	55019	NR Yellow	Network Rail	Sandite Sandite Sandite is a substance used on railways in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands to combat leaves on the line, which can cause train wheels to slip and become damaged with flat spots...  unit	Stored

Preservation

"Bubble Cars" have proved popular for preservation 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.

Vehicle no.		Unit no.	Vehicle type	Location	Livery	Comments
Original no.	Departmental no.
55000	-	122100	DMBS	South Devon Railway South Devon Railway Trust The South Devon Railway Trust is a charitable organisation that operates a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon, alongside the River Dart...	BR Green	-
55001	975023	L101	DMBS	East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway The East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.-Overview:After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line was reopened on 25 July 1987. The initial service operated between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat. In 1991 the service was extended...	BR Blue	-
55003	-	P103	DMBS	Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...	BR Green	First preserved DMMU to gain main line certification
55005	-	P105	DMBS	Battlefield Railway	BR Blue/Grey	-
55006	-	P106	DMBS	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...	BR Green	Took part in Railcar50 in 2004
55009	-	P109	DMBS	Mid Norfolk Railway	BR Green	-

External links

Entry at the Railcar Association for class 122