1st Generation DMUs

101's, 108's and 117's at work on British Rail between 1990 and 1997

[@stephensmith799]

I miss the view through the front (cab) windows.... and a driver who kept us entertained first with hymns and then with jokes - all the way from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth. He did this to make up for a late departure from Shrewsbury. It was the best journey I ever experienced. The jokes became more risque the further we went. There was one about a sheepdog from Devil's Bridge that was particularly daring! He was a born entertainer AND railwayman.

[@trainmanbob]

Used to do Brighton-Reading every weekend in the early 70s. Always a 101 from Redhill to Reading. Pure magic memories.

[@390h8er]

Can't beat a proper DMU. Yes they were noisy and rickety, but you had lovely bouncy seats and a cab view! The heaters were so good you'd feel sleepy. Power-twin sets could accelerate like sh*t off a shovel. I love the e.p. hiss when changing gear and opening up/shutting off and that distinctive smell, they ALL have.

[@lewis72]

I hate 'proper DMU's precisely because they were noisy and rickety and had bouncy seats. They used to run from Norwich to Great Yarmouth through most of the '80s and they were dreadful then. Occasionally, I'd get lucky and catch the Summer Special Inter City service from GY to London Liverpool Street and that was real class. A Class 47 hauling Mk2 carriages (I think); travelling like royalty compared to those 101s !!

[@nztv8589]

The seats were so comfy !

[@pauln3266]

Lot better than pacers, were far from dreadful. Comfy seats, view through cab great when driver had blinds open. Granted some of replacements for pacers are good, but I’d happily go on 1st generation DMU’s any day, maybe it’s a age thing lol

[@alancordwell9759]

That brings back such memories- the set departing Sheffield platform 1 would more than likely be the 'Humberail' service Sheffield to Hull with about 20 stops... I'd be on there on a Friday evening going to see my girlfriend in Hull; I'd always ride in the power car and in summer at the car end so I could lean out of the door window and listen to the engines... I was a bad case even then!! Great post, thanks for sharing.

[@ryansta]

This is what i've been trying to find from what I remember. Standing on platform with what seemed a massive drop, waiting. The the train pulls in and can see what guessed to be engines between wheels and smell of diesel. If you got to the front you could see the driver and a row of lights on side wall. Each train having a goods van. They were a welcome sight when cold, windy and lashing with rain, especially in winter as going dark early. Get in dry, warm and that rocking.

[@ewloe01]

what a great vid! nice to see the old liveries! brings back so maney memorys! thank you for posting.

[@carlwilson1772]

Used to travel on these a lot in the late 80s and early 90s between Marylebone and Wendover. Love the tok tok sound on tick over and the pneumatic hiss as the Wilson preselector box changes up and down.

[@brianwarbrick2225]

Made me chuckle when I spotted the tail lamp 'Protecting' the signal that's grown up in the four foot ( 5.20) great memories.

[@owenlewis8006]

We had these right up until the late 80s on the South Wales valley lines. I loved them, so comfy and warm inside, plus I loved the distinctive growl from those 680s. They must have been utterly knackered by then judging by the smoke, but they were still a damned site better than the shitty pacers we are still using now...those really are shit.

[@stevelomas4119]

27th September 1992, the official last day.

[@frankhope9792]

Frank Hope. Used to travel from Southport to Wigan and return once a week on these DMUs. Loved them. Always sat at the front and watched the driver. Went on them so often I reckon I could drive one! Was lucky enough to have a cab ride at the East Lancs Railway a couple of years ago. Great memories. Thanks for the film.

[@faltskog36abba]

I remember these old dmu's with great affection.Me and my brother were lucky enough to board[daisy 101]-think it was 97.We got the train from manchester victoria to stalybridge-WOW-the power that train had on its climb up the miles platting bank,miss the old trains.

[@Pmjs]

Used to work the old DMUs from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central & 117s around the Fife Circle.

[@ChrisB-wl7ci]

Very nice video, I used to travel on 108 in 1978.

[@chrisray1272]

I always remember these in Southport station back in 80s. Quite often they would thrash the engines just before they were due to set off, the whole station would fill with black smoke, the smell was unbelievable!!!!

[@robdavies7173]

God I miss those days

[@tinsley.tmd.41a52]

Really wonderful, loved watching it 🙂

[@stuartbroome1258]

Just remembered I have the BR logos from the green 108, happy days.

[@TerryTheNewsGirl]

Oh, I adore DMU's. I'm subing you because you just made this lady very happy! Thank you for uploading!

[@penybontshed]

Class 127 at 70mph, now there was an experience!!

[@2KXMKR]

Great video, I love DMU's. The signal at 4:52 confuses and scares me....

[@stevelomas4119]

The track it's on used to be the lead into Manchester Exchange, out of use for many years by then and postioned there replacing a previous signal that suffered from siting difficulties.

[@steamfan2011]

the class 117 unit used to run on the gospel oak barking line in north london and i alway looked forward to riding on these the rattling of the engine the diesel fumes in side the coatches the open windows in the the summer the warmth of the engines in the winter brilliant [I WISH THESE WHERE STILL AROUND TODAY I AGREE] daveallalones comment they are way better than the dmus around today

[@daveflavell4408]

Brilliant cottage there 👍

[@flalingbashers2957]

Outstanding video

[@secretspyfrog]

I just love this, Great stuff

[@MetroCammellDMUs]

Great Vid. DMUs are my fav type of trains and i love first generation DMUs. wish i was into train before the last days of them working the lines around manchester.

[@likklej8]

Used to run Paddington to Southall on Western Regio DMUs back in 1960s train spotting days. There were many old GWR railcars shedded there. Never travelled on London Middle region DMUs

[@FILNAT2011]

Love these DMUs the real things and the ho oo ,n gauge models

[@collieultimo]

Brilliant video

[@jasonl5967]

I remember moving to South Wales Xmas 86 and seeing one of these 3 car DMU's operating to Cardiff from Rhymney, not long after, me and my family caught one to Barry Island from Bargoed one Summer's day we all sat behind the Driver's Cab and watched what he was doing, awesome, shame that the majority of these are long gone,

[@coloradostrong]

Understandable, but as the married widow drowned, the propane tank sang to the porpoise. When the helicopter proposed lunch, the propeller saw the midnight daylight yesterday at you. Laughingly, the robin gasped, while moonbeams ate marshmallows inside the deer. Aware of pencils, aroma heard floor tiles selling whales. Branded as lost is the umbrella, as it elopes at tires. Wherein the thesis seams chicken openly, it only missed the elevator by rainfall. Quietly, fires argue as to when the crow sounds popcorn afternoon today. Heavy borrows irrigate crime with ice cream whelps instead of Krylon drips.

[@Intercity47GBRail]

Great video love it!

[@m18tankdestroyer43]

Great stuff.

[@TransportLondonPhoto]

You can't beat First Generation DMUs. I've always loved the gearing system on these.

[@coloradostrong]

Understandable, but as the married widow drowned, the propane tank sang to the porpoise. When the helicopter proposed lunch, the propeller saw the midnight daylight yesterday at you. Laughingly, the robin gasped, while moonbeams ate marshmallows inside the deer. Aware of pencils, aroma heard floor tiles selling whales. Branded as lost is the umbrella, as it elopes at tires. Wherein the thesis seams chicken openly, it only missed the elevator by rainfall. Quietly, fires argue as to when the crow sounds popcorn afternoon today. Heavy borrows irrigate crime with ice cream whelps instead of Krylon drips.

[@edwardhulin9935]

@@coloradostrong lovely weather we had tomorrow !.

[@nathan83699]

brillant video!

[@marc21091]

Good film clips which bring back the atmosphere and character of local railways in the 1980s. The dark green livery chosen for all dmus in the late 1950s was well-selected and still looks right for Modernisation Plan dmus today. Later colours never took on - applying Network SE livery certainly did not. A few clips show dmus which have had a centre vehicle inserted from the withdrawn St Pancras-Bedford four-car suburban units (work undertaken 1982-84). This car had two toilets in the centre, and high-back comfortable seating. The London Midland Region replaced the original centre cars with these vehicles (scrapping the other cars of those units) and inserted corridor connections with the outer two (powered) cars, creating a dmu with toilets accessible to all and comfortable centre cars with no underfloor engines. Tickets could be sold and checked by guards en-route. Much of this work was done at Tyseley and the units served the Birmingham Cross-City Line, the then 'Moor Street' lines and others until Sprinters arrived. A good example of ingenious improvement by BR. I recall this having been a Midlands TUCC member at that time.

[@GWRProductions-kg9pt]

Haven't seen a 101 for over 20 years

[@splatten8597]

Great workhorses for passengers

[@video47]

Very good!

[@williamradford9631]

Good old classic DMU, I remember rides in wales in the past. Take the font seat and see over your drivers shoulder,.on the H O W line

[@chusan01]

Cracking stuff as Wallace and Grommit would say!

[@rolymier8659]

Stayed a few weekends with friends in Luton in the mid 1970's . Used to get what was known as the Moorgate Flyer into work on a Monday morning. Don't know what class of dmu it was, but it sure could fly into London

[@buffscrag71]

Many happy memories of these lovely units as well. Regular trips from Blackburn to Manchester Victoria in the mid-1980s usually consisted of BRCW 104s or Derby 108s, later on MetCam 101s, and on one very memorable occasion the legendary Gloucester/Cravens 100/105 hybrid (53355+53812), each the last examples of their respective classes. I miss the slam doors, the symphony of rattles, bumps, clanks, vibrations and rasping exhausts, comfy seats and being able to stick my head out of the window!

[@johnhardman3]

The "105/100" hybrid (subsequently vandalised and scrapped) and the 3-car green "101" were regulars on the Man.Piccadilly-Rose Hill service. There had been plans to keep the hybrid in the NRM collection, I understand.

[@tinsley.tmd.41a52]

Yep almost identical memories to me being Bradford we were in the heart if metrotrain land and could get anything at Neville Hill that nobody else wanted!

[@BladeRunner21577]

Amazing to see the old green livery survived on the old DMU for so long

[@graeme9022]

That was a re-paint in the 1980s I believe

[@murrburr3]

+BladeRunner21577 damn, yah! is that the really old Southern region livery?

[@BladeRunner21577]

+murrburr3 No it was the first livery for the DMU, it was so old it actually wore its BR green with pride for many years before it changed to BR blue then blue/grey

[@MrStabby19812]

Two_Heads_Talking some locos do keep their old paint I saw a class 08 a couple years back in a siding with its old br black paint although very poor shape.

[@stevelomas4119]

@@MrStabby19812 The very last loco to wear it's original BR Green was 40106 until September 1978.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Another thing you won`t see from Redhill station is the old ODEON cinema. That disappeared under a massive development of flats (apartments).

[@1951GL]

At this point the units were cannibalised from others, maintenance based on individually manufactured parts more or less cobbled together. Some were over 40 years old at the end. Well worth the money originally spent on them.

[@TheAxelay]

There's a certain charm/persanility that the DMU's have that today's units will never ever have!! It was a different time/era!! I still want a LIMA model of these.....

[@narrowgauger4229]

I'm sure that you could pick one up from a model show or swapmeet for under £40

[@smleonard55]

shake rattle and roll, i hope you like my responce! 1st generation units are fab

[@ojarskrumins8476]

What confuses me a lot, how engrineers were driving those wagons during the dark period of the day? They basically have no lights in front. Imagine how it was to drive 101 in the last roudtrip for the late autumn day in bad weather or in the winter night with snowfall or blizzard. Crazy.

[@billyweir714]

Proper trains

[@joenichols725]

Great trains theses where

[@pauletchells4127]

i miss the good class 101 DMU, made to last

[@stuartbroome1258]

I worked at Marple in the dmu era and knew all the Met-cams. Sent them off to Manchester Piccadilly in rush hour for years, shutting the doors for late comers, then giving g the tip. So impersonal nowadays,

[@plottwist1733]

They seem to be a lot quieter than the trains that replaced them. Pacers make loads of racket with all the revving up they do before they actually start moving. You can hear them setting off from a mile away. There was also that small issue of an engine falling out of a Class 142. Yeah, I just hate it when I'm riding the train home and the engine detaches itself and smashes into the track at 57 mph. No, Northern Rail, that's not how you entertain your passengers. Bad Northern Rail.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@r.h.8754 Has anyone got any video of these units being scrapped, cut into small pieces and sent for melting down?

[@TheOrganboy]

I Was A Guard At Blechley we had the craven sets on the Bedford Branch And A Night working To Watford Also Saturday evenings A Through Working From Bedford To Euston And The Last Train Back To Blechley

[@johnhardman3]

I travelled several times on a 2-car green "105" between Blechley and Oxford in Sept 1966: I gather a lot of the track was just left to rot when the line closed a little later and it will cost a fortune to reinstate.

[@cedriclynch]

Good video but it would be nicer if it had better captured the characteristic sounds of the engines and transmissions of these trains.

[@shahedmc9656]

I didn't really like them at the time, I preferred the loco hauled services. I went on long journeys in such DMUs and the windows vibrating, frequent stops, high revving contributed to my bad experiences. Be careful what you wish for! We ended up with Pacers!

[@dminalba]

Strathclyde Red on 1st DMU

[@MarioStahl1983]

Dieselisation..... An incredidible strategic mistake made in the 1950s that still haunts the British railway system till this very day.

[@Keithbarber]

But at least we were shot of the inefficient and costly steam era Steam may have its magical charm and romance etc, but diesel was much more efficient and far less labour intensive as well

[@CosgroveNotts]

A bus on rails

[@lewis72]

Used to get one of these cattle trucks from Great Yarmouth to Norwich when we went to watch the footy or go up the city shopping. Awful things. On a rare occasion, we would get an Inter City from Great Yarmouth to Norwich, which would continue onto London, Liverpool Street.

[@NewRailBasher]

Lewis72 beats the donkey and carts you lot were used to until 1975

[@888ssss]

How much would each viewer pay for a DMU ? I would go to maybe £30,000 for a good condition one. How about you ?

[@davidellis279]

Whoever came up with idea of using AEC engines in some of the DMUs were mad,those engines in trucks were absolute shit with there low oil pressure and oil consumption and they were installed horizontally in the DMUs,no wonder they smoked so much the Leyland 680 was a far superior engine and a lot more reliable,I believe some were fitted with Garner engines and others had Rolls Royce Eagles,a couple of horses would have been better than AEC engine.