Class 101 DMU

Class 101 DMUDiesel Multiple Unit at the EVR (2012)

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 101 General Information

The BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 101 diesel multiple units (DMUDiesel Multiple Unit) were built by Metro-Cammell at Saltley, Birmingham between 1956 and 1959. The body is steel with aluminium roof panels. Typically they were operated in 2, 3, or 4 car sets and were allocated to depots in all Regions, excluding the Southern. From 1958 the London Midland Region in Birmingham received an allocation of sets, and the class is appropriate to the West Midlands. Although the Severn Valley branch was until 1963 part of the Western Region, Class 101s did at least operate on the branch after that date. On 2 March 1968 a Birmingham University Transport Society railtour operated Hartlebury to Alveley Colliery, returning via Bewdley and Kidderminster. BRBritish Rail or British Railways Bank Holiday shuttles in the preservation era from Kidderminster to Bewdley also featured the class.

The Metro-Cammell first generation units were an updated version of the earlier 79xxx series ‘Met-Camm Lightweights’. Three variants of engine were deployed: AEC (became the TOPS Class 101), Leyland (Class 102) and a more powerful Rolls-Royce (Class 111). A total of 760 Met-Camm vehicles were built, including 527 Class 101 cars comprising:

Car type	Description	Number built	SVRSevern Valley Railway Examples
Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second)	Powered driving car	217	50253
Driving Motor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. with lavatory (DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory)	Powered driving car	97	50170
Driving Trailer CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. with lavatory (DTCLDriving Trailer Composite with lavatory)	Unpowered driving car	120
Trailer Second with lavatory (TSLTrailer Second with lavatory)	Unpowered centre car	41	59303
Trailer Second Buffet with lavatory (TSLRB)	Unpowered centre car	6
Trailer CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. with lavatory (TCL)	Unpowered centre car	18
Trailer Brake Second with lavatory (TBSLTrailer Brake Second with lavatory)	Unpowered centre car	28

Later the Classes 101 and 102 were rationalised, with all becoming Class 101s and carrying Leyland engines. The Class was first refurbished in the 1970s to give a life-extension, with a later facelift.

In 1983 the powered vehicles originally numbered in the 50xxx and 56xxx series were renumbered in the 53xxx and 54xxx series respectively (to avoid a conflict of TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. numbers with the Class 50 locomotives). Towards the end of their life, most of the 3-car Class 101 units were converted to 2-car units so that they could run on lighter routes, with all but three centre cars being scrapped. They became one of the last Classes to be phased out of traffic, in 2003.

Some vehicles saw further use in parcels and departmental service.

DMUDiesel Multiple Unit Group vehicles

The Class 101 and 108 DMUs on the SVRSevern Valley Railway are owned and operated by the SVRSevern Valley Railway-based DMU Group (West Midlands). Both Classes are fitted with Blue StarAn electro-magnetic form of multiple working equipment widely used by BR in first generation diesel locomotives and multiple units whereby multiple like-coded vehicles are capable of running under the control of one driver. A blue star coupling code is normally indicated on the front of the vehicle. electro-pneumatic control, and so are inter-operable.

In September 2024 the SVRSevern Valley Railway announced that the permanent home fleet was to increase with the addition of a three-carriage Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMUDiesel Multiple Unit), formerly based at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The Class 101 DMUDiesel Multiple Unit was acquired by the DMUDiesel Multiple Unit Group (West Midlands) with the purchase made possible thanks to a generous donation.

The Class 101 DMUDiesel Multiple Unit comprises:

• DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory 50170 (previously appeared at the SVRSevern Valley Railway during the Railcar50 event in 2004)
• DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second 50253 (previously appeared at Railcar50 in 2004)
• TSLTrailer Second with lavatory 59303

DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory 50170

E50170 is a Driving Motor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. with lavatory (DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory) powered driving car, providing seating for 12 first class and 52 second class passengers. It was built by Metro-Cammell in 1957 as part of Lot 30255. It was initially outshopped in early British Railways lined green and allocated to BRBritish Rail or British Railways's North Eastern region where it spent most of its working life. It later moved to the Norwich area where it was fitted with Radio Electric Token Block instrumentation for single line working. It was also renumbered into the 53xxx series as 53170 under TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock..

During the 1980s it formed part of BRBritish Rail or British Railways Set 103 with DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory 50149 and TBSLTrailer Brake Second with lavatory 59077. At some time during its working life, the First Class seating was removed and converted into Standard Class accommodation. In 1996 it was transferred to the Scottish region and paired with DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second 53253 as BRBritish Rail or British Railways set number 101692. Both were painted by Scotrail in a unique Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive blue livery to celebrate the launch of a new Motherwell to Cumbernauld service. A final transfer to the First North Western franchise followed, with set 101692 based at Longsight where it worked services in the Manchester area and was fitted with modern TPWS equipment to allow it to operate on major main lines.

50170 and 53253 were part of a final batch of six Class 101 vehicles to be withdrawn on Wednesday 31 December 2003, the last day of operation of the class. Both entered preservation at the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley. In May 2004 they took part in the SVRSevern Valley Railway's Railcar50 in 'as-withdrawn' condition, still carrying the Strathclyde PTE livery. In 2005 they briefly ran as a 3-unit set with 59303. 50253 was withdrawn for repairs in 2009, with 50170 remaining in service with an alternative DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second from a visiting set (50164) .

Agreement was reached in 2010 to loan 50170 to the SVRSevern Valley Railway as a spare power car while several of the railway's own Class 108 DMU units were out of service. In anticipation, 50170 underwent a significant restoration. The first-class saloon was reinstated, while external corrosion was dealt with and the vehicle repainted in original BRBritish Rail or British Railways green livery. Other changes to return the vehicle to 'as-built' condition were also carried out, including shortening the gutters were to cover only the doorways, and reinstating the original cab front arrangement with four marker lights. Unfortunately, the loan deal did not go ahead.

Agreement was reached in March 2011 for the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway DMUDiesel Multiple Unit Association to operate and maintain the vehicle. At the EVR it initially operated in a number of different sets until restoration of 50253 was completed in September 2015. Thereafter it became part of a fixed formation green liveried Class 101 set comprising 50170 with 59303 and 50253.

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  E50170 at Bewdley, January 2025

DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second 50253

E50253 is a Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second) powered driving car, providing seating for 52 second class passengers. It was built by Metro-Cammell in 1957 as part of Lot 30266 and allocated to BRBritish Rail or British Railways's Eastern Region as part of a power twin set. The set was allocated to 51A Darlington in September 1957 where it operated around the Middlesborough area. Over time it carried various liveries including BRBritish Rail or British Railways early lined green, BRBritish Rail or British Railways Blue with full yellow end, and BRBritish Rail or British Railways Blue and Grey. It was also renumbered into the 53xxx series as 53253 under TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock.. By the late 1980s it was part of BRBritish Rail or British Railways set CH348 with TSLTrailer Second with lavatory 59696 and DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second 51210. It was transferred into Set 101692 in 1996, with a subsequent history as detailed above.

E50253 was the first of the SVRSevern Valley Railway Class 101 units to enter service during February 2025 half-term week, paired with two Class 108 units.

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  E50253 at Bewdley, February 2025. Class 108 TSLTrailer Second with lavatory E59250 is also visible

TSLTrailer Second with lavatory 59303

E59303 is a Trailer Second with lavatory (TSLTrailer Second with lavatory), an unpowered centre car originally seating 71 second class passengers but reduced to 66 with a buggy area having been created in preservation. It was built by Metropolitan-Cammell in 1957 as part of Lot 30273 and delivered to Darlington in November of that year. It was initially classified as a Class 162 under the original TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. system, later changed to Class 101 to match the power cars of the same type.

59303 was originally part of a three-car set with 50746 and 50291, in BRBritish Rail or British Railways early green livery. In the late 1990s it was part of Set 302 with DMBSDriving Motor Brake Second 50290 and DMCLDriving Motor Composite with lavatory 50197. The set was unofficially retired in the summer 1997. With the move to 2-car sets, BRBritish Rail or British Railways opted to retain only three centre cars (including 59303) to be stored and used to strengthen sets in the summer months if high passenger loads were expected. The idea proved impractical, and in the end the vehicles were left unused.

59303 was dumped in Blackpool Carriage Sidings for seven years before being preserved by the 101692 Group and moved to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley. There it was repainted in the Strathclyde PTE livery and briefly entered service in 2005 as detailed above. It was then stored between 2006 and 2007 before being restored to original condition between 2008 and 2011 at the MRC and the EVR. It re-entered service in April 2011, appearing in several formations before becoming part of the fixed formation green liveried Class 101 set in September 2015.

59303 is unique, being the only surviving example of a Metro-Cammell Class 101 TSLTrailer Second with lavatory, the other 2 surviving centre cars being TCL.

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  E50253 at Kidderminster, February 2025. E50170 is also visible

See also

• Class 108 DMU
• The DMU Group (West Midlands)

References

Links

• 50170 on preserved.railcar.co.uk
• 50253 on preserved.railcar.co.uk
• 59303 on preserved.railcar.co.uk
• British Rail Classes 101 and 102 on Wikipedia