List of British Rail diesel multiple unit classes facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A diesel multiple unit (often called a DMU) is a type of train that runs on diesel fuel and has its own engine and power system built right into the passenger cars. This means it doesn't need a separate locomotive to pull it. DMUs are often used for local and regional train services.

This article lists the different types, or "classes," of diesel multiple unit trains that have been used on British railways.

Early Diesel Trains

Before British Rail was formed in 1948, some railway companies were already experimenting with diesel trains. These early designs helped pave the way for the many DMUs that would come later.

First Generation DMUs (The Originals)

The first big wave of DMUs was built by British Rail starting in the 1950s. These trains were designed to replace older steam trains on many routes, especially on lines with fewer passengers.

Early BR Lightweight Trains (79xxx series)

These were some of the very first DMUs built by British Rail. They were called "lightweight" because they were designed to be lighter and more fuel-efficient than steam trains.

Train Name	Built	Number Made	Notes
Derby 'Lightweight'	1954-1959	217 vehicles	Some were used for special railway jobs until the 1990s.
Metro-Cammell 'Lightweight'	1955-1956	36 sets	A few survived for railway use until 1981.
AC Cars Railbuses	1958	5	These were small, bus-like trains.
Bristol-ECW Railbuses	1958	2
Park Royal Railbuses	1958	5
Waggon and Maschinenbau Railbuses	1958	5
Wickham Railbuses	1958	6	One was used for checking tracks until 1997.

TOPS Classes (The Numbered Trains)

TOPS stands for "Total Operations Processing System." It's a computer system that British Rail used to give every train a special number, or "class," to help manage them. This system is still used today!

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Notes
Class 100	Gloucester RC&W	1957–1958	40 sets	Some were used for special purposes like spraying weedkiller.
Class 101	Metro-Cammell	1956–1960	527 sets	Some lasted in railway service until 2012.
Class 102	Metro-Cammell	1956–1960	106 sets
Class 103	Park Royal	1957	20 sets	A few cars were used for railway jobs until 1990.
Class 104	Birmingham RC&W	1957–1959	302 cars
Class 105	Cravens	1956–1959	302 cars	Some were used for railway jobs until 1990.
Class 106	Cravens	1956–1959
Class 107	BR Derby 'Heavyweight'	1960	26 sets	Some were used for spreading sand on tracks until 1995.
Class 108	BR Derby 'Heavyweight'	1958–1961	333 cars
Class 109	D Wickham & Co	1957–1958	5 sets
Class 110	Birmingham RC&W 'Calder Valley'	1961–1962	30 sets
Class 111	Metro-Cammell	1957–1960	23 sets	The last unpowered car was removed from service in 2000.
Class 112	Cravens	1959–1960	25 sets
Class 113	Cravens	1959–1960	25 sets
Class 114	BR Derby 'Heavyweight'	1956–1957	50 sets	Two cars were used as a special test unit until 2004.
Class 115	BR Derby 'Suburban'	1960	41 four-car sets
Class 116	BR Derby 'Suburban'	1957–1961	310 cars	Two were changed into Class 130 trains.
Class 117	Pressed Steel 'Suburban'	1959–1961	123 cars
Class 118	Birmingham RC&W 'Suburban'	1960	15 sets
Class 119	Gloucester RC&W 'Cross-Country'	1958	84 cars
Class 120	BR Swindon 'Cross-Country'	1958	194 cars
Class 121	Pressed Steel 'Bubble Car'	1960–1961	26	This was the last first-generation DMU to be used regularly.
Class 122	Gloucester RC&W 'Bubble Car'	1959	29	Four were used for railway jobs until 2011.
Class 123	BR Swindon 'Intercity'	1963	40
Class 124	BR Swindon 'Trans-Pennine'	1960	8 six-car sets
Class 125	BR Derby 'Lea Valley'	1958	20 three-car sets	Some were used for fire tests until 1988.
Class 126	BR Swindon 'Intercity'	1959	22
Class 127	BR Derby 'Bed-Pan'	1959	30 sets	22 trains were rebuilt in 1985.
Class 128	Gloucester RC&W 'Parcels'	1959–1960	10	These trains were designed to carry parcels, not passengers.
Class 129	Cravens 'Parcels'	1955	3	One car was used for railway jobs until 1986.
Class 130	Converted from Class 116	1969 (converted)	2	These were passenger trains changed to carry parcels.
Class 131	Converted from Class 122	1966, 1969, 1971 (converted)	3	These were also passenger trains changed to carry parcels.

Second Generation DMUs (Modern Era)

The second generation of DMUs started being built from the late 1970s onwards. These trains were more modern, faster, and more comfortable than the first generation.

Lightweight Railcars

These are very light trains, often used on quieter lines.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Class 139	Parry People Movers	2008	2 single cars	Yes

Pacers (Bus-like Trains)

Pacers were a special type of lightweight DMU built using bus body parts. They were designed to be cheap and quick to build, often used on local routes.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Leyland Prototypes	BREL-Leyland	1978-84	4 single cars	No
Class 140	BREL-Leyland	1980	1 two-car set	No
Class 141	BREL-Leyland	1984	20 two-car sets	No (some used in Iran)
Class 142	BREL-Leyland	1985-87	96 two-car sets	No
Class 143	Barclay-Alexander	1985-86	25 two-car sets	No
Class 144	BREL-Alexander	1986-87	13 two-car and 10 three-car sets	No	$Pontefract Baghill 2018.jpg$

Sprinters (Faster Regional Trains)

Sprinters were designed to be more comfortable and faster than Pacers, used for longer regional journeys.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?
Class 150 Sprinter	BREL	1984–7	135 two-car and 2 three-car sets	Yes
Class 151	Metro-Cammell	1985	2 three-car units	No
Class 153 Super Sprinter	BREL-Leyland	1991–2	70 single cars (converted from Class 155s)	Yes
Class 155 Super Sprinter	BREL-Leyland	1987–8	42 two-car sets	Yes
Class 156 Super Sprinter	Metro-Cammell	1987–9	114 two-car sets	Yes
Class 158 Express Sprinter	BREL	1989–92	165 two-car and 17 three-car sets	Yes
Class 159 South Western Turbo	BREL	1992–3	22 three-car sets	Yes

Turbos (Modern DMUs)

"Turbo" DMUs are known for their powerful engines and smooth rides. They are used for various services, from local to express routes.

Networker Turbos

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Class 165 Networker Turbo	BREL/ABB York	1990–2	49 two-car and 26 three-car sets	Yes
Class 166 Networker Turbo Express	BREL/ABB York	1992–3	21 three-car sets	Yes

Turbostars

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?
Class 168 Clubman	Adtranz/Bombardier, Derby	1998–2004	9 three-car and 10 four-car sets	Yes
Class 170 Turbostar	Adtranz/Bombardier, Derby	1998–2005	44 two-car and 89 three-car sets	Yes
Class 171 Turbostar	Bombardier, Derby	2003–04	9 two-car and 6 four-car sets	Yes
Class 172 Turbostar	Bombardier, Derby	2010–11	24 two-car and 15 three-car sets	Yes

Coradias

These trains are built by Alstom and are known for their modern design.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Class 175 Coradia	Alstom, Washwood Heath	1999–2001	11 two-car and 16 three-car sets	No (withdrawn in 2023)
Class 180 Adelante	Alstom, Washwood Heath	2000–01	13 five-car sets and 1 four-car set	Yes

Desiro

Desiro trains are built by Siemens and are used for various services across the UK.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Class 185 Desiro	Siemens	2005–06	51 three-car sets	Yes

Civity

Civity trains are built by CAF and are some of the newest DMUs on British railways.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?
Class 195 Civity	CAF	2017–20	25 two-car sets and 33 three-car sets	Yes
Class 196 Civity	CAF	2019–	12 two-car sets and 14 four-car sets	Yes
Class 197 Civity	CAF	2021–	51 two-car sets and 26 three-car sets	Yes

Diesel-Electric Multiple Units (DEMUs)

DEMUs are special because they use a diesel engine to generate electricity, which then powers electric motors to move the train. This is different from a regular DMU where the diesel engine directly powers the wheels.

Southern Region DEMUs

These DEMUs were mainly used in the Southern Region of British Rail.

Class	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?
Class 201	1957-58	7 six-car sets	No
Class 202	1957-58	9 six-car sets	No
Class 203	1958	7 six-car sets	No
Class 204	1957	4 three-car sets	No
Class 205	1957-62	4 two-car and 29 three-car sets	No
Class 206	1964	6 three-car sets	No
Class 207	1962	19 three-car sets	No

Second Generation DEMUs

These are more modern DEMUs, including some that have been converted from other types of trains.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Notes
Class 210	BREL, Derby	1982	1 three-car and 1 four-car set	No	Most were scrapped, but some parts were used for other trains.
Class 230 D-Train	Metro-Cammell (original) Vivarail (conversion)	2015 (prototype)	1 three-car (prototype), 3 two-car, 5 three-car	Yes	These trains were made by converting old London Underground trains!
Class 231 FLIRT	Stadler	2021-22	11 four-car sets	Yes
Class 769 Flex	BREL, York Brush Traction (conversion)	2017	35 four-car sets	Yes	These were converted from electric trains (Class 319 EMUs).

Voyager-style Express DEMUs

These trains are known for being fast and comfortable, used for long-distance express services.

Class	Manufacturer	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?
Class 220 Voyager	Bombardier, Bruges, Belgium	2000-01	34 four-car sets	Yes
Class 221 Super Voyager	Bombardier, Bruges, Belgium	2001-02	4 four-car and 40 five-car sets	Yes
Class 222 Meridian/Pioneer	Bombardier, Bruges, Belgium	2003–05	4 four-car, 7 nine-car and 17 five-car sets	Yes

High-Speed Trains (HSTs)

High-Speed Trains are designed for very fast journeys between major cities. They are some of the most famous trains in Britain.

Class	Manufacturer	Information	Built	Number Made	Still in Use?	Image
Class 251	Metro-Cammell	Blue Pullman	1959-1960	2 six-car and 3 eight-car sets	No
Class 252	BREL	Prototype HST	1972	1 ten-car set	No	This was the test train for the famous HSTs.
Class 253	BREL	HST	1975–1982	58 nine-car sets	Yes
Class 254	BREL	HST	1975–1982	36 ten-car sets	Yes
Class 800	Hitachi	These trains can run on both electricity (from overhead lines) and diesel fuel.	2014-2019	46 five-car and 13 nine-car sets	Yes
Class 802	Hitachi	These are also electro-diesel units, similar to Class 800.	2017-2020	27 five-car and 7 nine-car sets	Yes
Class 805	Hitachi Newton Aycliffe	These are new electro-diesel units.		13 five-car sets	Not in service yet
Class 810	Hitachi Newton Aycliffe	These are also new electro-diesel units.		33 five-car sets	Not in service yet