A total of 123 Class 117 cars were built by Pressed Steel between 1959 and 1961, delivered as 39 three-car units plus three pairs of spare motor coaches. When first introduced in 1960, these three-car units were all based with the similar Class 121 single carriage (railcar) units on British Railways Western Region for suburban work out of London Paddington. The units were largely based at Reading and Southall depots. The units remained here for many years working these services.[2]
The type was used for a railtour from Paddington to the south west on 31 May 1969.[3]
Later operations
In the 1980s, expiry of other DMUs facilitated moves for some units from the Western Region to Birmingham, as below, and Scotland, prior to the delivery of new units to replace them. They were given refurbishments.
The first shake up in ownership occurred in the late 1980s, when the Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Birmingham based units were transferred to Provincial Services, later Regional Railways, in the sectorisation of British Rail, while the Southall-based units transferred to Network SouthEast.
They soldiered on in the former Western Region until replaced by Class 150 and Class 153 DMUs by 21 May 1993, although the type could be found running Penzance - Looe services until 1997. An attempt was made to remove them from Cornish work using Class 142 "Skipper/Pacer" railcars, but these fixed wheelbase units proved to be a liability on the tight Cornish branchline curves, increasing rail and wheel wear, and were transferred to the North of England instead. The 117s were finally replaced with the advent of more Class 150s and Class 153s freed up from other areas.[5]
117308 in Scotrail livery at Edinburgh Haymarket in 1994
The type was used in Scotland between Edinburgh - Perth, Cowdenbeath and Markinch using the Forth Bridge and continued to work in Scotland until 12 January 1998, where they were replaced with Class 156s.[citation needed] The final day of 117s running in Scotland was 27 November 1999.[6]
In 2000, Class 150 Sprinter units replaced the Class 117 units on Silverlink, finally bringing to an end decades of service on Britain's rail network in front line service.[7]
Table of orders and numbers
Lot No.
Type
Diagram
Qty
Fleet numbers
Notes
30546
Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)
534
42
51332–51373
30547
Trailer Composite with lavatory (TCL)
601
39
59484–59522
30548
Driving Motor Second (DMS)
535
42
51374–51415
Preservation
Due to the type's longevity, 12 units have been preserved on heritage railways.
Golding, Brian (1995). A Pictorial Record of British Railways Diesel Multiple Units. Stadhampton: Cheona. ISBN9781900298001. OCLC59628291.
Haresnape, Brian (1985). British Rail Fleet Survey. Vol. 8: Diesel Multiple Units - The First Generation. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN9780711014954. OCLC810581284.
Marsden, Colin J. (1986). Motive Power Recognition. Vol. 3 DMUs. London: Ian Allan. ISBN9780711015708. OCLC16471467.
Robertson, Kevin (2004). British Railway Pictorial: First Generation DMUs. Hersham: Ian Allan. ISBN9780711029705. OCLC56454643.
Further reading
Bendall, Simon; Lowery, Dave; Forsythe, Robert (November 2003). "Sound of the suburbs". Model Rail. No. 61. Peterborough: EMAP Apex. pp. 18–24. ISSN1369-5118. OCLC173324502.
