Set Numbers / Formations

The Last Rail Blue 116

Thanks to Robert Chilton,Simon Kemp, Kevin Dowd & Eddie Knorn who all responded to a question from Gary Roberts about a plain blue 116 set that appeared at Tyseley in the eighties.

The set in question in Moor Street on 25/4/87. Andy Leckenby.

TS 702, the last all Rail Blue class 116 set was formed of the following vehicles:

DMBS 53867, TC 59372 & DMS 53920, all gangwayed and 53867 was apparently ‘facelifted’. The three were painted blue at a Doncaster Works visit in June 1984.

Most of the Stratford sets that arrived at Tyseley went into the T3xx series combined with a 127 or 115 trailer, apart from the all over blue set which because it had no toilet but was gangwayed through out was renumbered differently.

Before reaching Stratford the two power cars had for some time been Scottish and the trailer car was Western in 1975 and Midland in 1977, but by 1980 all three were allocated to Stratford where they remained from 1980 to 1986.

The complete set was noted in Stratford Works on a visit there on the 22nd March 1986, possibly being prepared for transfer, as by the 7th June 1986 it was allocated to Tyseley as set TS702 and this number was displayed on one of the old black boards in the secondman's cab window.

Records for Nov '86 show the three vehicles still as set TS 702, but by March '87 they had become TS 355, as shown in the window of the picture above.

The ex-Stratford sets didn't last long at Tyseley as they went to other destinations for sprinter, skipper and pacer replacement, and by 1988 the blue had been transferred to Newton Heath.

Withdrawal (and cutting) dates are listed in Ashley Butlin's disposal books as:
53867     10.88     10.88
59372      5.88       6.88
53920     10.88     10.88

M53920 (with M53867 in background) at Vic Berry's, Leicester on 30/10/88. Kevin Dowd.

Incidentally, in 1986 there were only four other all Rail Blue DMU vehicles at Tyseley, a pair of Class 116 DMBSs nos. 53051 and 53072 both converted in 1985 for parcels use, class 127 TS no. 59631 and class 115 TCL no. 59751 transferred in from CF (previously AN the year before that).

By 1988, of the above vehicles 53051 and 53072 were now Blue/Grey, still in parcels use but transferred out to CH, 59751 was Blue/Grey and still at Tyseley, in set T337, and 59631 was stored at Crewe though still allocated to Tyseley and still Rail Blue.