Throughout mainland Europe, particularly in Germany, four wheeled diesel railbuses were being introduced around 1955. That year in a parliamentary debate it was suggested that 'railbuses' should be trialed on UK branch lines in rural districts. The Central Transport Consultative Committee made the suggestion to the BTC and the Ministry of Transport. The CTCC also called for a reduction in the operating requirements on the branches where a loco hauled service could no longer be justified, so that the full economy of the one-man operated railbuses could be achieved. The machinery for this had long existed in the Light Railway Order, and there was a case for working many more branches as light railways.

It was felt that many passengers were being lost to the ever increasing number of 'bus services, with their attractions of flexibility and convenience, despite the limited luggage capacity. Unless stations were reasonably near the towns which they served and the timetable at least as good as the 'bus though, the railbuses would not be expected to be able to revive a poorly patronised branch line. However on some lines there was the possibility of increasing traffic as the Derby Lightweights had been doing on longer routes.

Orders

At a press conference held by Sir Brian Robertson on the 6th March '57 to review the progress to date on the Modernisation Plan and look at developments expected in '57/58. There was a mention of 22 railbuses being ordered for delivery in '57/58 for experimental use in rural areas.

It wasn't until May 1957 that the BTC placed contracts with five firms for the 22 railbuses. No rigid design specification was issued, so as to allow firms to make an individual approach within limits of maximum dimensions, performance required, and brief details of seating and fittings, but there were guides to what was required.

Each railbus would have to be powered by a single underfloor engine of between 112 and 150hp, a maximum speed of about 55mph, and have a seating capacity for between 46 to 54 passengers. They must have air-operated brakes and some would be fitted with couplers for use with trailer vehicles.

Strangely enough, despite these specifications being wildly publicised at the time, not all manufacturers adhered to these tolerances.

Bristol Commercial Vehicles were only to supply two, while BUT (Park Royal Vehicles Ltd.), London; AC Cars Ltd, Thames Ditton; D Wickham & Co. Ltd, Ware; and Waggon und Maschinenbau, Germany were each to build five each. The vehicles were due to be introduced early in 1958 in the Eastern (5), London Midland (4), Western (4) and Scottish Regions (9).

Of the five firms only Wickham and BUT had built vehicles to their own design before so the vehicles were to be very much experimental.

Park Royal immediately released details of what it was going to build, with 56 seats, a BUT 150hp engine, and direct air controlled clasp type brakes. However, AC Cars were the first to deliver one, in February 1958. It had seating for 46 passengers and a 150hp engine.

There was regret expressed by the railway press, that the railbuses were not ordered sooner, particularly as at the time British Railways was developing financial problems. They also noted that no consideration had been given to one design which had been consistently operated with considerable success, with 700 railbuses in five countries when the British vehicles were ordered. While the BTC didn't approach that manufacturer, BUT acquired the Uerdingen licence for body suspension from it for use on the Park Royal built vehicles.

Next vehicles to be delivered were the and Waggon und Maschinenbau's, which had 150hp engines and 56 seats. Third were the BUT (Park Royals), these being equipped with 150hp engines and seating for 50. The Bristol vehicles had a 112hp engine and could seat 56 passengers. The final type, built by Wickham had an engine of just 105hp, seating 48 when counting four tip-up seats.

The fitting of retractable steps to some vehicles allowed services to stop at places such as level crossings. With tickets being issued by the guard it was hoped these stops would prove beneficial to sparsely populated areas which would not otherwise have a rail link.

As many of the branches that they worked on closed, most of the cars ended up being transferred to the ScR, which at one time had 13 cars allocated to it. All types except the German cars made an appearance on this region.

Even at the time of ordering many doubted the wisdom of ordering lightweight units which could not haul a tail-load, which meant that a loco would be required for freight or if there was a sharp increase in passenger numbers in peak periods. Many railway staff were not too confident of their success, and the public were warned not to expect too much of them as a means of saving unremunerative branches from closure. Protagonists of road transport pointed out the disadvantages of purchasing small quantities of non-standard vehicles at high capital cost, compared with the use of mass-produced road vehicles of the same capacity which could far more effectively connect rural areas with the railhead. Many of these fears were realised, as the railbuses did not have a happy career.

There was one withdrawal in 1963, and two in 1964. Nine were withdrawn in Oct/Nov '66, and a further five in '67. The final five were withdrawn in Feb. '68, just under ten years since they were first introduced.

Happily there were a few embryonic preserved railways at the time, and they saw the benefits of these vehicles. Four German vehicles and two AC Cars (initialy three) were preserved.