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The Blue Pullmans were
luxury train Luxury trains are a premium travel option designed to offer a comfortable ride and evoke an association with history and heritage. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others (such as the Maharajas' Express) ...
s used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman
diesel-electric multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are als ...
s, incorporating several novel features. Named after their original Nanking blue livery, the trains were conceived under the
1955 Modernisation Plan Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
to create luxury diesel express trains aimed at competing with the motor car and the emerging domestic air travel market. Although not entirely successful – they were seen as underpowered, and ultimately not economically viable – they demonstrated the possibility of fixed-formation multiple-unit inter-city train services, that a decade later was developed as the
InterCity 125 The InterCity 125 (originally Inter-City 125New trai ...
, which resembled them in having an integral power car at each end of the train. There were two versions, built by
Metro-Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...
in Birmingham: two first-class six-car sets for the
London Midland Region The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
(LMR), and three two-class eight-car sets for the Western Region (WR). They were initially operated by the luxury train operator the Pullman Car Company, which the
British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...
(BTC) had acquired in 1954. Shortly after their introduction, in 1962, the Pullman Car Company was incorporated into the British Railways network. Originally given the last Pullman vehicle numbers, towards the end of their operational life the trains gained the British Rail
TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
classification of Class 251 (motor cars) and Class 261 (kitchen and parlour cars), although they never carried these numbers. The WR sets operated from London Paddington to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
, and to
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and Swansea. The LMR sets operated the '' Midland Pullman'' between
London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...
and via the
Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...
, a journey it accomplished in a record 3 hours 15 minutes with a maximum speed of 90 mph. The ''Midland Pullman'' was withdrawn in 1966 following electrification of the Euston to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
line, which brought greatly reduced journey times with which the Midland route could not compete. The LMR sets were then transferred to the WR, where some of the first-class seating was downgraded to form two-class sets. The sets were an advanced and luxurious design, befitting a Pullman train, although they did suffer some criticism particularly over a persistent ride quality problem. Over time it became costly to maintain such a small fleet of trains. By 1972, with the development of first-class accommodation in Mark 2 coaching stock, the surcharge for Blue Pullmans seemed uneconomical and unreliable to passengers and BR managers, and in 1973 the trains were withdrawn. None were preserved. The sets featured in three films, one of the same name as a documentary of the design and development, and an observation of the first service. From 2006, the Blue Pullman name was revived as a charter
railtour A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, ...
, operated by various companies.


History


Inception

In June 1954, the BTC, which operated the railways through its British Railways subsidiary, purchased the full equity of the Pullman Car Company, a private operator of luxury carriages on the otherwise nationalised passenger network. Under the 1955 Modernisation Plan there was a push toward diesel power to replace steam locomotives, and Pullman coaching stock was ageing. The BTC and PCC formed a committee to examine the possibility of running diesel express passenger trains using new trains. Initially proposed as the '' Midland Pullman'', it was timed to compete on the
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
route against car and air travel. After being initially rejected for operational reasons, the BTC decided to make use of the reputation of the recently acquired Pullman company to operate the new service. Two six-car units, all first class, were ordered for the LMR, and three eight-car units for the WR in 1957.


Services

The selection of Pullman caused some initial delays due to trade union staffing problems, variances in pay and conditions of the Pullman staff compared to BR train staff. After some production delays, the first set appeared for trials in October 1959. These trials revealed that rough ride quality was a problem, and modifications were made. These mitigated the problem, but it was never entirely removed. After a demonstration run on 24 June 1960, ''Midland Pullman'' commenced on 4 July 1960, and the WR trains on 12 September. They operated Monday to Friday only. Weekends were reserved for maintenance, and allowed their occasional use on special or charter services to events such as the
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
. The ''Midland Pullman'' ran from 1960 to 1966 in the morning from Manchester Central to
London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...
calling at Cheadle Heath, a fill-in journey from St Pancras to Leicester,
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
and return, and an evening return to Manchester. With completion in 1966 of the electrification of the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
from
London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
to Manchester Piccadilly, there was the opportunity for a faster electric-locomotive-hauled Pullman service than the diesel sets, and the ''Midland Pullman'' sets were transferred to the WR in March 1967. The introduction of new non-air conditioned
Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts conta ...
Pullman cars on the East Coast Main Line in 1961 had been questioned as it was believed the ER had not waited for the completion of evaluation of the Blue Pullmans. The later introduction of 2nd-class air-conditioned Mark 2 coaches on these services hastened the perception that the Pullman supplement was not value for money. The WR '' Birmingham Pullman'' ran in the morning Wolverhampton Low Level to London Paddington, via Birmingham Snow Hill and through
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
, with a fill-in journey from Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill and back, before the evening return to Wolverhampton. The ''
Bristol Pullman The Bristol Pullman was a British prototype passenger aircraft developed from the Braemar triplane heavy bomber. Design and development The Pullman was developed as a 14-passenger variant of the Braemar bomber. The third prototype Braemar was ...
'' from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington and back, twice in a day. The two morning services were booked to arrive at the same time at Paddington, giving the possibility of a side-by-side arrival. From 1961, an additional morning train, the ''South Wales Pullman'', operated from Paddington to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and Swansea. With the imminent withdrawal of the ''Midland Pullman'', in 1965 one operated a trial from London King's Cross to
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
via the East Coast Main Line. However they were not introduced on this route and after the ''Midland Pullman'' ceased, the sets were transferred to the WR to be used on a new non-stop service for
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and on additional out-and-back services on the Bristol and Swansea routes. The Birmingham services were eventually withdrawn, with the last services being to South Wales.


Withdrawal

Towards the end of their operational life, the sets operated as three makeshift sets formed from various original cars to maintain a working service. With declining reliability, the last sets were withdrawn en masse in May 1973. A farewell commemorative special journey out and back from Paddington was run by the Western Region, travelling for 12 hours via
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
,
Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...
, Leamington Spa,
Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...
,
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, Birmingham New Street, Cheltenham, Bristol Temple Meads, the
Severn Tunnel The Severn Tunnel ( cy, Twnnel Hafren) is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western ...
, Swansea,
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Bristol Parkway,
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, eas ...
and Slough.


After service

Ten cars (six Midland and four Western) had been reportedly saved from the scrapyard in July 1975 for preservation, however, none have been preserved. Some of the motor cars were retained at Bristol Temple Meads and
Bristol Bath Road TMD Bristol Bath Road depot was a railway traction maintenance depot in central Bristol, England, which was in use from 1852 until 1995. History The Bristol and Exeter Railway opened workshops at Bath Road in January 1852. 35 locomotives were built ...
until mid-1974 as standby electricity generators during industrial action in the electricity and coal-mining industries. The Irish national rail and bus operator Córas Iompair Éireann gave "serious consideration" to acquiring (and by implication, re-gauging by exchanging the standard gauge bogies with broad-gauge ones) the Blue Pullman sets but ultimately decided against it.


Design

The sets had a maximum speed of . The fixed couplings reduced much of the jerky movement experienced by conventionally buffered carriages and allowed smooth acceleration and stable running. The bogies had hydraulically-damped helical springs, and the axles were pneumatically braked in a two-stage system, allowing highly-controlled stopping. They were air-conditioned with automatic humidity control. Motor cars had a large primary diesel engine and generator for motive power, and a secondary Rolls-Royce C8NFLH diesel engine and auxiliary 150 kVA 3-phase 400 V generator beneath the floor provided power for the air-conditioning, fridges and ancillary equipment. A single auxiliary per set was normally sufficient. An onboard Travelling Maintenance Attendant monitored the supply of services. Seating was 2+1 armchair-type around tables with a table lamp and with steward call button. The saloons were protected from track noise by extra insulation in the bodywork and double-glazed windows with Venetian blinds between the panes.


Livery

To emphasise the new type of service, a Nanking blue livery and associated brand image replaced the traditional Pullman livery of brown and cream, and cars bore the word "PULLMAN" rather than individual names. Seating was also different from traditional first-class Pullman cars, increasing from 1+1 to 1+2. The original livery was Nanking blue with white window surrounds and the Pullman crest on the front and sides. From mid-1966 full wrap-around yellow ends were applied to the driving cars. From October 1967 the sets were repainted in a reverse corporate blue and grey livery, similar to other Pullman coaches and the prototype Class 252, though some retained the Nanking blue livery into 1969.


Technical details

Power car (one at each end of set): * Introduced: 1960 * Weight: 67 tons 10 cwt * Engine: NBL/
MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
* Motors: two GEC traction motors (plus two on the adjoining car) * Maximum tractive effort: Not known * First, second and third bogies from each end were of 9 ft 6 in wheel centres, all other inboard bogies had 8 ft 6 in centres. The four traction motors at each end were mounted on the second and third bogies. * Driving wheel diameter: 3 ft 6 in * Coupling code: Unknown * Train heating: Electric, powered by
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
underfloor engine on adjoining vehicle


Formation

The sets were formed from six types of car: # 1st class motor car, # 2nd class motor car, # second class parlour car with under-floor diesel generator (see train heating engine above), # first class kitchen car with under-floor diesel generator, # first class kitchen car, and # first class parlour car. The cars were coupled into trains of six or eight cars. Each car was hermetically sealed for the air-conditioning, and all sets were symmetrical, with two kitchen cars serving their respective half of the train. London Midland trains were formed up as ypes1-4-6-6-4-1, whilst Western region sets ran as 2-3-5-6-6-5-3-2. In an emergency, the buffers on the front of the sets were used in conjunction with a normally concealed coupling hook. The LMR thus operated two sets of six first-class cars, the WR three sets of eight cars. Withdrawal of the Midland Pullman allowed operation of 12-car formations. The seating in the full length of the parlour cars was augmented by seated sections in the kitchen cars, and motor cars also had a passenger compartment. Kitchen cars and Midland Pullman power cars had one toilet, parlour cars two.


Recreations

In January 2006 charter operator FM Rail revived the ''Blue Pullman'' brand, repainting two Class 47s and a set of Mark 2 carriages into the original Nanking blue livery. After FM Rail ceased trading, they were operated by
Cotswold Rail Cotswold Rail was an English company, based in Gloucester, which arranged the spot-hire of shunting and mainline locomotives. History Cotswold Rail was founded in 2000, initially as a broker for rolling stock. In June 2000, it offered 13 C ...
from February 2007. In 2020, an HST set operated by Locomotive Services Ltd was repainted in replica Blue Pullman livery. The train made its inaugural run on 12 December that year, from London St Pancras to Crewe and back.


In film

The units starred in the 1960 British Transport Films ''
Blue Pullman Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...
'' directed by James Ritchie, which followed their development, preparation and a journey on the train. As with earlier British Transport films, many of the personnel, scientists, engineers, crew and passengers were featured. It won several awards, including the Technical & Industrial Information section of the Festival for Films for Television in 1961. It is particularly notable for its eerie score, by Clifton Parker. The units were the subject of the British Transport Film ''Let's Go To Birmingham'' in 1962. This was of a run from London Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill via Leamington Spa and was largely a sped-up "cab view" film in the style of '' London to Brighton in Four Minutes''. The driver in the film, Ernest Morris, was killed on 15 August 1963 in the Knowle and Dorridge rail crash when his express train collided with a freight train at . His train was a ''Birmingham Pullman'' hauled by a Class 52 ''Western'' diesel-hydraulic locomotive, a stand-in for the regular Blue Pullman set. In the 1963 British Transport Film ''Snow'' there are very short passing shots of a set (5 min 9 sec and 6 min 23 sec), and two views of a LMR set with 6 intermediate cars, in panorama (5 min 10 sec to 5 min 26 sec) and from the cab of an approaching train (5 min 28 sec to 5 min 38 sec). A Blue Pullman made brief appearances in the 1965
Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...
film '' The Early Bird'', destroying Pitkin's milk cart at a level crossing.


Models

There have been several commercial models, of varying dimensional accuracy.
Kitmaster Rosebud Kitmaster is the brand name of a short-lived but critically acclaimed range of plastic assembly kits, manufactured in the United Kingdom by Rosebud Dolls Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire. Introduced from May 1959, the range rapidly expanded ...
produced an unpowered polystyrene injection-moulded model kit of car types 1, 4 and 6 at 00 scale. In late 1962, the Kitmaster brand was sold by Rosebud Dolls to
Airfix Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...
and it is thought the tools were destroyed in a fire, so no further kits were produced. However, exampes can still be bought on eBay and the Kitmaster Collectors Club buys and resells built and unbuilt kits. From 1964 to 1967, Tri-ang (later Tri-ang Hornby) produced ready-to-run models of the type 2 power cars and the type 6 (first class) parlour car. No models of car types 3 or 5 were ever produced, though brass etchings to convert the window mouldings of Triang types are available, but very rare. In May 2010, Olivia's trains of Sheffield announced its intention to produce a ready-to-run model in association with Heljan models of Denmark. On Bachmann's announcement that it would be producing a model, the project was cancelled. In July 2010, Bachmann announced two Nanking blue versions of the Midland Pullman, with and without full yellow wrap-around ends. The models were released in late 2012 correctly reproducing car types 1, 4 and 6. In June 2016, Bachmann released a collectors' edition of the Midland Pullman, which included a book about the Midland Pullman, written by Kevin Robertson, a reproduction menu card, a print of the artwork featured on the box, as well as a set of stewards and train crew figures. Graham Farish made an
N gauge N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the ''gauge'' (the distance between the rails) is . The term N ''gauge'' refers to the track dimensions, ...
model in Nanking blue. In January 2018, Graham Farish announced planned production of versions of the Western Pullman in grey and blue livery, which was available by the following year.


See also

*
George Pullman George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car and founded a company town, Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it. This ulti ...
* Pullman Company (USA) * British Rail brand names *
List of British Rail classes This article lists the wide variety of locomotives and multiple units that have operated on Great Britain's railway network, since Nationalisation in 1948. British Rail used several numbering schemes for classifying its steam locomotive types ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


Further reading

* * *


External links


Detailed history of the Blue Pullman





''Blue Pullman'' at the IMDB

Introduction to Blue Pullman trains
{{British Rail DMU
251 __NOTOC__ Year 251 ( CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus (or, less frequently, year 1004 ' ...
Metropolitan Cammell multiple units Pullman Car Company (UK) Scrapped locomotives Train-related introductions in 1960 United Kingdom streamliner trains