In 1955,

Metropolitan Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of Passenger car (rail), railway carriages, locomotives and Railroad car, railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwo ...

produced its first lightweight

diesel 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 also ...

s, the prototypes of what were to become

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

's most successful and longest-lived ''First Generation'' DMU type, the Class 101.

Operations

The seven London Midland Region sets (formed DMBS + DTCL) were used on the Bury-Bacup line services, while the other sets (formed DMBS + DTSL) were all allocated to the Eastern Region. These sets were used on a variety of lines in East Anglia as well as the (then) non-electrified lines in Essex (Romford-Upminster and Wickford-Southminster branches). A unit consisting of 79066 and 79282 worked the last passenger service on the Aldeburgh Branch Line in 1966.Great Eastern Journal No 64 (Great Eastern Railway Society)

Withdrawal

They proved to be very successful, but with line closures continuing through the 1960s, including many in East Anglia where the type was first used, their non-standard coupling arrangements left them prone to early withdrawal, which took place during 1967–1969.

Departmental use

All were scrapped following withdrawal, except two (79047 + 79053), which were taken into departmental (non-revenue earning) service as 975018 + 975019. They were used at the

Railway Technical Centre The Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in London Road, Derby, England, was the technical headquarters of the British Railways Board, and was built in the early 1960s. British Rail described it as the largest railway research complex in the world. Th ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

as ''Laboratory 21: Plasma Torch Research''. When this extended life was complete, they too were scrapped, in 1981.

Fleet details

References

{{British Rail DMU

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 ...

Metropolitan Cammell multiple units Train-related introductions in 1955