The Railcar website provides information on the British Railways first generation DMUs (a.k.a. diesel multiple units / railcars) introduced in the 1950s.
The six key sections of the website are:
Details of railcars in preservation can be found on The Railcar Association website.
To view details of a particular vehicle or set enter the number below:
Do you have photos of First Generation DMUs? The more images we have the better we can tell the DMU story and make it more useful to visitors. Images can be loaded directly onto the site - just register as a user and upload! Alternatively if you have images on flickr or another website I can do the uploads for you - just let me know.
This website contains details about the First Generation DMUs. This includes the 4-wheel diesel railbuses, ACV / BUT railcars, the Battery Multiple Unit (BMU) and Blue Pullmans. It covers the period from their introduction to British Railways in the 1950s till their withdrawal and disposal from main-line use, but NOT preservation.
Because of the vast amount of data that this covers and the amount of information I have still to process I cannot include the DEMUs introduced on the Southern Region in the same era, nor Second Generation or later types.
March 16th
The remaining pages relating the asbestos content for vehicles circa 1984 have been added, these are for: Class 107s, Class 108s, Class 111s, Class 114s, Class 115s, Class 116s, Class 117s, Class 118s, Class 121s, Class 122s, and Class 127s.
March 9th
Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Ipswich - Lowestoft; Birmingham - Four Oaks; Leeds - Harrogate; Cumbernauld - Springburn; and Swansea - Carmarthen.
March 2nd
Another log book kept by Llandudno Junction depot staff has been added covering 13 May to 22 August 1988. It is in three parts: 13 May - 13 June (12mb pdf); 14 June - 16 July (11mb pdf); and 17 July - 22 August (12mb pdf). Also BR maintenance records for 50619 and 56492 courtesy of the Dean Forest DMU Group.
February 24th
Some pages relating the asbestos content for vehicles circa 1984 have been added for Class 101s, Class 110s and Class 119s.
February 17th
Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth; York - Selby - Doncaster; Glasgow - Largs; Slough - Windsor; and new timetables added to Cambridge - Ipswich.
February 10th
Another log book kept by Llandudno Junction depot staff has been added covering 16 March to 12 May 1988 (13mb pdf).
February 3rd
Two GRC&W promotional brochures have been added: one a general one (4mb pdf) circa 1958; and one for the Class 100s (4mb pdf) dated July 1957.
January 27th
Some more operation/timetable pages have been started: Norwich - Sheringham; Bedford - Bletchley; Leeds - Goole; Edinburgh - Galashiels; and Paignton - Exeter.
January 20th
Another log book kept by Llandudno Junction depot staff has been added covering 12 July to 28 October 1986. It is in four parts: 12 July - 5 August (13mb pdf); 6 August - 2 September (14mb pdf); 3 September - 2 October (14mb pdf); and 3 October - 28 October (14mb pdf).
Class 101 DMU set L831 (presumably 53265 + 59072 + 51211) in London Liverpool Street station with the Branch Line Society Orwell and Lea Rambler railtour on 30 November 1991. Stuart Mackay Collection.
The rear car of a Trans-Pennine set rasps off into the tunnel to the west of Huddersfield station in September 1978. Murray Liston.
Met Camm set L205 (51443 + 54385) had arrived at Banbury in Summer 1989 and was about to run round north of the station to form a service back to Oxford. Murray Liston.
Met Camm set L205 (51443 + 54385) rolls past Banbury North box to enter the station having run round to form a southbound service for Oxford, taken in the summer of 1989. Murray Liston.
A Class 101 Met Camm DMU waits to depart Banbury for Oxford in summer 1989. Murray Liston.
W50868 in St. Budeaux station with the 4.50pm Plymouth - Penzance service aon March 19, 1981. Michael Mensing.
53421 / 53529 are seen at Normanton on 19/3/88 while working the 15:43 Leeds - Sheffield. Stuart Mackay Collection.
977177 (55015) on Eastfield depot, 19 March 1988. Note the Mk3a FO data sticker on the cab. Brian Daniels.
This 2 car class 108, formed of 51916 + 54194, looked as if it has recently been painted into Network South-East livery as it stood in the rain at Bletchley on 19 March 1990. As the destination blind suggests the train was on the regular diagram to Bedford Midland which has seen quite a variety of motive power over the years. In 2022 the service is... Peter Tandy.
Class 114 T026 (54010 + 53006) at Stratford-upon-Avon and taken on the late morning of 19 March 1990. The unit would have later formed the 12.12 to Leamington Spa. Prominent in the picture are the gasholders, still in use at that time, and the mix of lower and upper quadrant semaphore signals every sign of which have now gone. Peter Tandy.