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DMU 101 101681
(Photo: David Ballard)
History
Class 101 - A Brief History-by Steve Allen
After WW2 there was a urgent need to replace much of the
aged, costly and unreliable equipment that had been
trundling along Britain's branch and secondary lines, much
of it since the turn of the century or earlier. Whilst
some of the steam locos were replaced with ‘modern' BR
steam designs, the solution identified for lightly used
services and branch lines was to replace them with Diesel
Multiple Units (DMUs). One of the principal designs was
the Metro-Cammell ‘lightweight' unit. These were the first
BR DMUs produced by an outside contractor and emerged from
Metro-Cammell's works at Saltley in Birmingham in August
1955. Compared to the steam era stock they were like
something from the space age. They were light, spacious,
comfortable, and clean and made an immediate impression on
the travelling public.
In 1956, 29 of the new units were allocated to the Eastern
Region for service in East Anglia, 24 of them at the
Norwich shed (32A). These served such places as Cromer,
Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Mundesley, Hunstanton, Wells,
Swaffham, Aldeburgh, and Melton Constable to name just a
few. Pictures of the last days of the M&GN often show
these early units, particularly on the Norwich City –
Melton Constable – Cromer services, and some even worked
through from Melton to Fakenham and beyond. As these and
the contemporary Derby Works built lightweight units were
non-standard they could not be coupled with units from the
main railcar fleet introduced from 1957 onwards. As a
result they were only to survive slightly longer than most
of the lines they were introduced onto, the last being
withdrawn in 1969.
These initial units were the precursor of what was to
become the largest fleet of diesel multiple units built
for service on BR, with a further 339 (of what we now know
as Class 101) already on order by the time the last car
was delivered in 1956. The first Class 101 cars were
ordered early in 1955 before the first Metro-Cammell
lightweight units were delivered. Almost identical in
external design, but with many more variations in vehicle
type, these units were destined to become one of the
longest serving DMU types ever built, outlasting British
Rail itself. The 101 units were allocated far more widely
than any other type of unit. Including the Lightweight and
Rolls Royce cars. 760 cars were built, 465 were for the ER
& NER, 159 for the ScR and 136 for the LMR. They later
spread to the Western Region where they gained access into
Southern territory. From local branch lines in East Anglia
to the North Wales coast, from Perth to Penzance in the
far south-west, these units have given sterling service.
The unit on the NNR (cars SC51228, and E54062) is of the
later Class 101 design that is a direct descendant from
the lightweight units that used to operate on the M&GN
prior to closure. Car E54062 will be no stranger to
Sheringham in that it spent much of the ‘80s working out
of Norwich, including services to Cromer and Sheringham.
Ironically this may already have clocked up more miles on
former M&GN metals than many of our other pieces of stock.
Our two vehicles, have a very differing history as during
their 45 years they only worked together briefly on the
national system in 2001.
E54062
The older of the two cars is Driving Trailer Composite (DTC)
E54062, this was originally E56062, but was part
renumbered in the early-1980s to make way on TOPS for the
Class 56 diesels then under construction. E56062 was
ordered early in 1955 (even before any of the lightweight
cars had been delivered) as part of Order DTO 1/12 that
comprised 24 power/trailers for the Eastern Region DMBSs
50210-33 and DTCs 56062-85. These were delivered between
May and September 1957, E56062 being the first delivered
in May. Units delivered up to E56062 had four marker
lights on the front, but E56062 was the first to be fitted
with a two character train describer panel below the
centre cab window. When new, E56062 was paired with DMBS
E50210, and was initially delivered on loan to the LMR
shed at Newton Heath near Manchester, before moving on the
ER at Sunderland (54A) in July 1957. From here it worked
services over much of the former North Eastern coastal
area right down to Scarborough and Hull, most probably
including the pre-preservation North Yorkshire Moors
Railway.
By 1965 it has been transferred to South Gosforth (52J)
and was used on Newcastle - Hexham and Newcastle - South
Shields services. It remained in the North East for at
least a further fifteen years, moving to Darlington by
1975 and Hull (Botanic Gardens) in 1980. By early 1982 it
had been transferred to Norwich for use on services to
Sheringham, Great Yarmouth, Cambridge, Lowestoft and
Ipswich (via the East Suffolk line). When Norwich was
‘Sprinterised' in 1990 it was transferred to Cambridge,
but was soon withdrawn for refurbishment. It returned
briefly to Norwich after being refurbished in set 101655,
before being transferred to Longsight in Manchester in
July 1991. Here it worked Manchester local, Hope Valley
and North Wales services until it was w ithdrawn in
September 2000 and stored at Longsight before re-appearing
in service in January 2001 with 51228 in 101681, but only
for two months. It was finally withdrawn in March 2001.
SC51228
The other car is Driving Motor Brake Second (DBMS)
Sc51228. This was ordered early in May 1957, (at the same
time that E56062 was being completed) as part of Order DTO
1/13 that comprised 30 power/trailers for the Scottish
Region DMBSs DMBSs 51224-53 DTCs 56382-411. These were
delivered between May and July 1958, Sc51228 was the
fifth, being delivered in mid-May and matched with DTC
Sc56386. It was initially delivered to Cowlairs in
Glasgow. From here it was used on services to Edinburgh,
Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Ayr and Stranraer. Many of the
longer distance workings were later taken over by the
Class 126 Inter-City units. In 1965 Sc51228 was allocated
to Hamilton (66C) and was working South Clyde locals from
Glasgow Central. In November 1972 it was recorded as being
allocated to Dundee (62B), but by 1975 it had been
transferred to Glasgow Eastfield (65A by then coded ED)
for workings around the Glasgow area.
It was transferred briefly to Tyseley (Birmingham) in late
1990 to become part of set T076 which in early 1991 was
transferred to Longsight. In June 1992 51228 joined DMCL
51506 to become set 101681 following 'final'
refurbishment. 101681 was taken out of service in October
2000 but was reformed, in January 2001, with 51228, 51442
and our other car 54062. In March 2001 both our cars were
finally withdrawn, moving to MoD Shoeburyness for storage
on the 18 th April 2001 with another five 101 vehicles,
hauled by 47756.
The humble, but long lived, Metro-Cammell Class 101 DMU is
perhaps one of the most under - rated pieces of railway
technology to come out of the BR modernisation plans of
the 1950s. The NNR will be a very suitable home for this
type of DMU that, since the first ones arrived in 1955,
have become synonymous with not only the last days of the
M&GN but East Anglian branch lines in general. It is a
very suitable addition to the railway's East Anglian
railway heritage collection.
This article first appeared in Joint Line, the Midland and
Great Northern Joint Railway Society's award winning
quarterly journal, which all members of the Society
receive.
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