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British Rail Class 117
The British Rail Class 117 diesel multiple units (DMUs) were built by Pressed Steel from 1959 to 1961. It was a licence-built variant of the British Rail Class 116. Original work A total of 123 Class 117 cars were built by Pressed Steel between 1959 and 1961, delivered as 39 three-car units plus three pairs of spare motor coaches. The Class 116 was ordered in large numbers which Derby Works could not fulfil, so the work was sub contracted. When first introduced in 1960, these three-car units were all based with the similar Class 121 single carriage (railcar) units on British Railways Western Region for suburban work out of London Paddington. The units were largely based at Reading and Southall depots. The units remained here for many years working these services. The type was used for a railtour from Paddington to the south west on 31 May 1969. Later operations In the 1980s, expiry of other DMUs facilitated moves for some units from the Western Region to Birmingham, as bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pressed Steel Company
Pressed Steel Company Limited was a British car body manufacturing business founded at Cowley near Oxford in 1926 as a joint venture between William Morris, Budd Corporation of Philadelphia USA, which held the controlling interest, and a British / American bank J. Henry Schroder & Co. At that time the company was named The Pressed Steel Company of Great Britain Limited. It acquired Budd's patent rights and processes for use in the United Kingdom.Address of the chairman to shareholders. Pressed Steel Company. ''The Times'', Saturday, 22 May 1937; pg. 19; Issue 47691 Morris transferred his interest to his company, Morris Motors Limited. Pressed Steel was acquired in 1965 by the British Motor Corporation and this led to BMC's acquisition of Jaguar later in 1965. At the end of 1966 BMC changed its name to British Motor Holdings (BMH). BMH merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to create British Leyland and Pressed Steel's businesses were absorbed into the new conglomerate. Many com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 116
The British Rail Class 116 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby from 1957 to 1961. Introduced as part of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in the mid 1950s, as with other first generation DMUs the 116 was intended to replace steam trains and reduce costs across the rail network. Alongside Metro-Cammell, BR Derby had prior experience with DMUs, having developed a Lightweight Unit, and so was awarded a contract for a new design. Background and design BR ordered the type in large numbers but Derby Works could not keep up with demand, with 108 three-car sets being built in all. Variants of the type, British Rail Class 117 and British Rail Class 118 were built by Pressed Steel and the BRC&W respectively under licence. These units were originally ordered for use on suburban and local services in the Birmingham area, but many found their way to other areas such as South Wales. The type was powered by twin BUT 11.3-litre six-cylinder diesel engines, each producing 15 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 ''Super Sprinter'' is a diesel multiple unit passenger train. A total of 114 sets were built between 1987 and 1989 for British Rail by Metro-Cammell's Washwood Heath works. They were built to replace elderly first-generation DMUs and locomotive-hauled passenger trains. Background By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) operated a large fleet of first generation DMUs, which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs. While formulating its long-term strategy for this sector of its operations, British Rail planners recognised that there would be considerable costs incurred by undertaking refurbishment programmes necessary for the continued use of these ageing multiple units, particularly due to the necessity of handling and removing hazardous materials such as asbestos. In light of the high costs involved in retention, planners examined the prospects for the development and introduction of a new generation of DMUs to succeed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge (to distinguish it from the adjacent Forth Road Bridge), although this has never been its official name. Construction of the bridge began in 1882 and it was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Duke of Rothesay, the future Edward VII. The bridge carries the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line across the Forth between the villages of South Queensferry and North Queensferry and has a total length of . When it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world, until 1919 when the Quebec Bridge in Canada was completed. It continues to be the world's second-longest s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 Pacer were diesel multiple units built for British Rail (BR) from 1985 to 1987. The class were built with a high level of commonality with the widely-used Leyland National bus. They are part of the Pacer family of railbuses. The last set was withdrawn from service in 2020. Background By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) operated a large fleet of first-generation DMUs, which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs. While formulating its long-term strategy for this sector of its operations, British Rail planners recognised that considerable costs would be incurred by undertaking refurbishment programmes necessary for the continued use of these ageing multiple units, particularly due to the necessity of handling and removing hazardous materials such as asbestos. In the light of the high costs involved in retention, planners examined the prospects for the development and introduction of a new generation of DMUs to succeed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 '' Super Sprinters'' are single-coach railcars converted from two-coach Class 155 diesel multiple units in the early 1990s. The class was intended for service on rural branch lines, either where passenger numbers do not justify longer trains or to boost the capacity on services with high passenger volume. Description In 1987 and 1988, Regional Railways took delivery of 35 two-coach Class 155 units, built by Leyland Bus at its Workington factory, to replace older DMUs. After the Class 155s entered service, a further requirement emerged for the replacement of ageing railcars on rural lines, mostly of Class 121 and 122. British Rail decided to meet this need by dividing each unit in the Regional Railways Class 155 fleet into two separate railcars that could then be converted for use independently, which would create a fleet of 70 vehicles. The seven further Class 155 units that had been delivered to the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WY ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 ''Sprinter'' is a class of diesel multiple unit passenger trains; they were developed and constructed by BREL York between 1984 and 1987 for use on regional services across the UK. The type is a second-generation design, built to more modern standards and based on BR's Mark 3 body design for longer-distance services. It was developed alongside the lower-cost ''Pacers'', which were built using bus parts, for use on short-distance services. Two prototype units were built, followed by 135 production units in two batches. Subsequently, further members of the Sprinter family were also developed and introduced to service, including the Class 155, Class 156, Class 158 and Class 159. Background By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) was operating a large fleet of first-generation DMUs of various designs. While formulating its long-term strategy for this sector of its operations, BR planners recognised that there would be considerable costs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 165
The British Rail Class 165 ''Networker Turbo'' is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple-unit passenger trains (DMUs), originally specified by and built for the British Rail Thames and Chiltern Division of Network SouthEast. They were built by BREL York Works between 1990 and 1992. An express version was subsequently built in the form of the Class 166 ''Networker Turbo Express'' trains. Both classes are now sometimes referred to as "Networker Turbos", a name derived some three years later for the project that resulted in the visually similar and EMUs. The class is still in service, now operated by Great Western Railway and by Chiltern Railways. When operated originally by Network SouthEast, along with that operator's Class 166 trains, the Paddington suburban units were initially known as ''Thames Turbos'', while the units operated on the Marylebone suburban network were known as ''Chiltern Turbos''. Description Class 165/0 Thirty-nine Class 165/0 ''Networker'' trains were bui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Paddington is the London terminus of the Great Western Main Line; passenger services are primarily operated by Great Western Railway (train operating company), Great Western Railway, which provides the majority of commuter and regional passenger services to west London and the Thames Valley region as well as long-distance intercity services to South West England and South Wales. The station is also the eastern terminus for Heathrow Express and the western terminus for Elizabeth line services from Shenfield railway station, Shenfield. Elizabeth line services also run through Paddington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyseley Locomotive Works
Tyseley Locomotive Works, formerly the Birmingham Railway Museum, is the engineering arm of steam railtour promoter Vintage Trains based in Birmingham, England. It occupies part of the former Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, built in 1908 to accommodate expanding operations in the West Midlands, particularly the opening of the North Warwickshire Line as a new main line from Birmingham to Bristol. As well as supporting the trust's operating wing Vintage Trains, it is home to an extensive collection of steam engines, from small industrial builds to Great Western Railway 'Castles' and 'Halls', and large ex-mainline diesel engines. Background Following the purchase of GWR Castle Class No.7029 ''Clun Castle'' in January 1966 by Patrick Whitehouse, the locomotive needed a base close to its central West Midlands supporters' base. Whitehouse found space available at Tyseley, on the site of the former GWR depot, and formed 7029 Clun Castle Ltd to own both the locomotive and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network went as far west as Exeter. Before 1986, the sector was originally known as ''London & South Eastern''. During the privatisation of British Rail, it was gradually divided into a number of franchises. History Before the sectorisation of British Rail (BR) in 1982 the system was split into largely autonomous regional operations: those operating around London were the London Midland Region, Southern Region, Western Region and Eastern Region. Sectorisation of BR changed this setup by instead organising by the traffic type: commuter services in the south-east of England, long-distance intercity services, local services in the UK regions, parcels and freight. The aim was to introduce greater budgetary efficiency and managerial accounta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regional Railways
Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors. Upon formation, its costs were four times its revenue. The sector was broken up into eight franchises during the privatisation of British Rail and ceased to exist on 31 March 1997. Formation Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created: InterCity, operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed Network SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area, and Provincial (renamed Regional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services. In the metropolitan counties, local services were managed by the Passenger Transport Executives. Services Regional Railways inherited a diverse range of routes, comprising both express and local services. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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