British Rail Class 127

British Rail Class 127

Class 127, no, 51625 at Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway on 15 October 2004, whilst on display at the Railcar 50 event. This vehicle has been part-restored to its original condition, having been rebuilt as a parcels unit (numbered 55976) in 1985. This vehicle is preserved at the Midland Railway Butterley, paired with driving motor 51591, and trailer 59609.
In service 1959–1989
Manufacturer BR Derby
Number built 30 sets (120 vehicles)
Formation 4-cars sets: DMBS + TSL + TS + DMBS
Capacity
  • DMBS: 78
  • TSL: 90 (2 lavatories)
  • TS: 106
Operator(s) British Rail
Specifications
Car length 64 ft 0 in (19.51 m)
Width 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Height 12 ft 4 1⁄2 in (3.772 m)
Maximum speed 70 mph (113 km/h)
Weight
  • DMS: 40 long tons (41 t; 45 short tons)
  • TSL: 30 long tons (30 t; 34 short tons)
  • TS: 29 long tons (29 t; 32 short tons)
Prime mover(s) Rolls-Royce C8NFLH, 2 per power car
Power output 476 hp (355 kW) per power car
Transmission Hydraulic
Multiple working ■ Originally Blue Square but later changed to Red Triangle
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Class 127, no. 55976 at Bewdley on 15 October 2004. This vehicle was rebuilt as a parcels unit from 51625 (seen above), with the addition of roller-shutter doors. Now preserved at the Midland Railway Butterley, it is being rebuilt back to a passenger vehicle.

The British Rail Class 127 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby in 1959. Thirty 4-car units were built, formed of two outer driving motor vehicles, sandwiching two intermediate trailers which were classified class 186. The technical description of such as 4-car unit was DMBS + TSL + TS + DMBS.

Numbering

Table of orders and numbers
Lot No. Type Diagram Qty Fleet numbers Notes
30521 Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS) 588 60 51591–51650
30522 Trailer Second with Lavatory (TSL) 589 30 59589–59618 Early TOPS class 186
30523 Trailer Second (TS) 590 30 59619–59648 Early TOPS class 186

Usage

The units were almost exclusively used on London St. Pancras to Bedford commuter services, which earned the class the nickname "Bed-Pan" units. The class was maintained at a new purpose-built depot at Cricklewood.

Powertrain

Unlike other "Heritage" DMU units, the class 127 units had hydraulic transmission (as opposed to the more standard mechanical transmission). The gear selector in the driver's cab had a "D" position where "4" would be on other standard transmission units. As built, these units were coded Blue Square, and were therefore able to work with mechanical transmission units, provided the driver remembered to use 1,2,3,D instead of just selecting D. This was changed to a unique code of Red Triangle when a driver forgot he had a mechanical transmission unit on the rear of his train, which meant this unit was driven only in fourth gear, which burnt out the transmissions on that unit. Power was provided by C8NFLH engines supplied by Rolls-Royce. For further information on the powertrain see British Rail British United Traction.

Replacement

The class 127 units operated one of the most intensive passenger services worked by diesel multiple units and, by the late 1970s, it was clear they needed replacing. It was therefore decided to electrify the Bedford line and replace the Class 127 units with new Class 317 electrical multiple units. The class 127 units should have been withdrawn by 1982, however, delays with the new trains meant they had to struggle on in service until July 1983. This was largely due to an industrial dispute with the unions over Driver only operation, which resulted in the new electric trains being stored at Cricklewood depot for nearly a year, awaiting the resolution of the dispute.

From early 1983, they had commenced operations on the Barking to Gospel Oak line at first running in three-car then finally two-car formations from November 1983 with just the two power cars. The units lasted in service on this line until eventually being withdrawn in March 1984. The units were then stored at Carlisle depot pending reuse, preservation or scrapping. Subsequently, many trailer vehicles saw further use in combination with Class 116 units, based at Tyseley depot in Birmingham. These lasted until October 1993.

Rebuilding

In 1985, 22 redundant power cars, including the first built, no. 51591, were rebuilt to form 11 two-car parcels units. Vehicles were renumbered 55966-987, and formed into sets CH910 to CH920. Units were fitted with roller shutter doors, and were based at Chester depot. The units lasted in service until 1989, when they were withdrawn.

Preservation

Three units have been preserved on heritage railways, although only one of these contains a trailer vehicle.

Vehicles Numbers Livery Location Comments
51591 59609 51625 BR Green Midland Railway - Butterley Previously parcels unit 55966+55976.
51610 - - BR Green Midland Railway - Butterley Previously parcels unit 55967.
51616 - - BR Green Great Central Railway Operational at Great Central Railway
51618 - - BR Green Llangollen Railway
51622 - - BR Green Great Central Railway
- 59603 - BR Blue/Grey Chasewater Railway -

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 127.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.