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Railbus E79960
(Photo: David Ballard)
Brief Outline
Railbuses are a very lightweight type of Diesel multiple
unit Railcar designed for use specifically on little-used
railway lines, and as the name suggests share many aspects
of their construction with a bus, sometimes having a bus,
or modified bus body, and having four wheels on a fixed
base, instead of on bogies.
In the late 1950s, British Rail tested a series of small
Railbuses, produced by a variety of manufacturers.
Twenty-two diesel railbuses were built for BR in a range
of differing designs by one German and four British
companies.
E79960 was one of five built by the German company, Waggon
und Masshienenbau. It was allocated to the Eastern Region
of BR at Cambridge.
These proved to be very economical, but also somewhat
unreliable. The lines they worked on were mainly closed by
during the 'Beeching Cuts' and, being non-standard, they
were all withdrawn in the mid-1960s, before being
allocated TOPS classifications.
Key Facts
|
Number |
E79960 |
|
Name |
|
|
Class |
|
|
Type |
DRB 4W |
|
Company |
BR |
|
Builder |
Waggon und Masshienenbau |
|
Works No |
|
|
Built |
1958 |
|
Owner |
NNR plc |
|
Date of acquisition by current owner |
|
|
Current Condition |
In Service |
|
Location |
NNR |
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