The British Rail Class 118

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s were built by the

Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham, England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the factory divided by the boundary betw ...

(BRCW) and introduced from 1960. It was a licence-built version of the

British Rail Class 116 The British Rail Class 116 diesel multiple units were built by Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, BR Derby from 1957 to 1961. Introduced as part of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in the mid 1950s, as with other first generation DMUs the 116 ...

History

BR Derby was inundated with orders for the Class 116, so the work was put out to tender. All Class 118s were built in

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. Originally allocated to the Western Region, the 118 was extensively used in

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and

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. They were stabled at Laira depot. The 118s survived in service in the region until 1994 when they were replaced by Class 156s. In its final days, vehicles were allocated to

Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's clear ...

depot in

, and were all withdrawn by the end of 1994. Like most first generation DMUs they were originally BR Green, then plain blue, and finally blue and grey, with a few receiving

Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the networ ...

livery. One set was painted in all over yellow with advertisements for

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. A normal formation was three vehicles- a Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS) which had two BUT engines (Later fitted with Leyland), a driving compartment (cab), 65 second class seats, guards accommodation and luggage/parcels space, a Trailer Composite Lavatory (TCL) which had no engines or driving compartment, but had 22 first class seats, 48 second class seats and a lavatory, and a Driving Motor Second (DMS), which like the DMBS had two engines and a driver's cab, and contained 89 second class seats. Having the 'blue square' multiple working system allowed them to run in formations containing up to 12 cars with most of BR's other DMUs. Two vehicles were converted to

sandite Sandite is a Chemical substance, substance used on railways in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, US, the Netherlands and Belgium to combat Slippery rail, leaves on the line, which can cause train wheels to slip and become damaged with flat ...

use.

Orders

Preservation

Only one Class 118 vehicle, DMS Number 51321, has been preserved and is at the Battlefield Line. This vehicle has been paired with class 116 DMBS 51131, also based on the railway.

References

*Motive Power Recognition: 3 DMUs. Colin J. Marsden *British Railway Pictorial: First Generation DMUs. Kevin Robertson *British Rail Fleet Survey 8: Diesel Multiple Units- The First Generation. Brian Haresnape *A Pictorial Record of British Railways Diesel Multiple Units. Brian Golding

External links

Battlefield Line website
{{British Rail DMU 118 BRCW multiple units Train-related introductions in 1960