British Railways placed the order with British United Traction in summer 1956 for the equipment required for the 98 power cars and 47 trailers of the first batch. The order, along with equipment ordered by Cravens for 66 power cars and the 3 parcels cars, was valued at £830,000. The first batch was ordered for the WR's West Country dieselisation scheme, which it hoped to complete by the end of 1959. The sets were expected to work between Bristol & South Devon. Their general reliability and good braking characteristics made them popular with drivers.
1970 at Inverness
In February 1959, the BTC placed an order with BUT for the equipment for the seven ScR sets, along with equipment for Class 108s and 127s being built at Derby. These 120s were to work mainly on the Aberdeen to Inverness line although appearances at Oban were not unknown. Otherwise the cars worked mainly in the Western and Midland Regions.
Some cars had a trial refurbishment but this was found to be too expensive, meaning an early withdrawal for most of the class. Some of the London Midland Region's units were transferred to Scotland in the mid-1980s, mainly finding use on local services from Edinburgh (notably to North Berwick). The final vehicles survived until 1989.
On 12 May 1978, the unit containing 51793-59684-51794, struck a lorry at Oyne and the front two cars were derailed. The unit was on the 07:43 Aberdeen to Inverness. Out of the 54 passengers on board, only 5 people suffered minor injuries.[11]
^ abcd. The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 9 March 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ abcdefghijk(PDF). Barrowmore MRG. Derby: British Railways Board. 1982. DP204, DP205, DQ101, DQ303, DQ304, DT210, DT217. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
british, rail, class, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, febru. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources British Rail Class 120 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The British Rail Class 120 was a cross country DMU in three car formation built at the British Rail Swindon Works British Rail Class 120Swindon 3 car Cross country setsIn service1958 1989ManufacturerBritish RailwaysOrder no 30334 50647 50695 30335 50696 50744 30336 59255 59301 30515 51573 51581 30516 51582 51590 30517 59579 59588 30559 51781 51787 30560 51788 51794 30561 59679 59685 1 Built atBR Swindon WorksFamily nameFirst generationReplacedSteam locomotives hauling auto coaches and coachesConstructed1957 1960 2 Number built194 carsNumber preserved1 car a TSLRB Number scrapped193 carsFormation3 car sets DMSL TSL RB DMBCDiagramDP204 or BR586DP205 or BR637DQ101 or BR587DQ303 or BR587DQ304 or BR636DT210 or BR572DT217 or BR561 1 3 Fleet numbers51573 51581 51781 51787 53696 53744 DMBC 59255 59301 59579 59588 59679 59685 TSLRB 50647 50695 51582 51590 51788 51794 DMSL 1 2 CapacityDMC 18 first class and 16 second class seatsDMSL 68 second class seatsTSLRB 60 second class seatsTSL 68 second class seatsOperator s British RailDepot s CA CambridgeCF Cardiff CantonCH ChesterDY Derby Etches ParkHA HaymarketLA LairaRG Reading 4 5 Line s servedHalwill Junc Wadebridge 6 Par Newquay 7 St Erth St Ives 8 Truro Falmouth 9 Truro Newquay 10 SpecificationsCar body constructionSteel 3 Car length64 ft 7 7 16 in 19 70 m DP205 DQ304 over body 64 ft 6 1 8 in 19 66 m others over body 3 Width9 ft 3 in 2 82 m overall 3 Height12 ft 9 1 2 in 3 90 m overall 3 DoorsSlam 2 Wheelbase46 ft 6 in 14 17 m bogie centres 8 ft 6 in 2 59 m bogies 3 Maximum speed70 mph 113 km h 2 WeightDia 586 36 50 long tons 37 09 t 40 88 short tons Dia 587 36 35 long tons 36 93 t 40 71 short tons Dia 561 30 60 long tons 31 09 t 34 27 short tons Dia 636 36 95 long tons 37 54 t 41 38 short tons Dia 637 37 05 long tons 37 64 t 41 50 short tons Dia 572 30 15 long tons 30 63 t 33 77 short tons Prime mover s Two BUT AEC of 150 hp 110 kW per power carPower output600 hp 447 kW per 3 car setTransmissionStandard mechanicalHVACOil burning air heater 3 BogiesDD1 mk1 and mk2 one of each DD2 mk1 and mk2 one of each DT3 mk1 and mk2 one of each 3 Braking system s Vacuum 3 Safety system s AWS 3 Coupling systemScrew 3 Multiple working Blue SquareTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Contents 1 History 2 Fleet details 3 Operation 4 Accidents and incidents 5 Other technical details 6 Preservation 7 References 7 1 Sources 8 External linksHistory EditTotalling 194 cars three batches were built 1958 49 sets for the Western Region 1959 7 sets for the Scottish Region 1961 a further 9 sets for the Western RegionBritish Railways placed the order with British United Traction in summer 1956 for the equipment required for the 98 power cars and 47 trailers of the first batch The order along with equipment ordered by Cravens for 66 power cars and the 3 parcels cars was valued at 830 000 The first batch was ordered for the WR s West Country dieselisation scheme which it hoped to complete by the end of 1959 The sets were expected to work between Bristol amp South Devon Their general reliability and good braking characteristics made them popular with drivers 1970 at Inverness In February 1959 the BTC placed an order with BUT for the equipment for the seven ScR sets along with equipment for Class 108s and 127s being built at Derby These 120s were to work mainly on the Aberdeen to Inverness line although appearances at Oban were not unknown Otherwise the cars worked mainly in the Western and Midland Regions Some cars had a trial refurbishment but this was found to be too expensive meaning an early withdrawal for most of the class Some of the London Midland Region s units were transferred to Scotland in the mid 1980s mainly finding use on local services from Edinburgh notably to North Berwick The final vehicles survived until 1989 Fleet details EditLot No Type Diagram Qty Fleet numbers Notes30334 Driving Motor Second with lavatory DMSL 586 49 50647 5069530335 Driving Motor Brake Composite DMBC 587 49 50696 5074430336 Trailer Second Buffet TSLRB 561 47 59255 5930130515 Driving Motor Brake Composite DMBC 636 9 51573 5158130516 Driving Motor Second with lavatory DMSL 637 9 51582 5159030517 Trailer Second with lavatory TSL 572 10 59579 5958830559 Driving Motor Brake Composite DMBC 587 7 51781 5178730560 Driving Motor Second with lavatory DMSL 586 7 51788 5179430561 Trailer Second Buffet TSLRB 561 7 59679 59685Operation EditFrom first introduction units were based at Laira and operated several services in Cornwall including the Truro and Newquay Railway route via Perranporth 10 Accidents and incidents EditOn 12 May 1978 the unit containing 51793 59684 51794 struck a lorry at Oyne and the front two cars were derailed The unit was on the 07 43 Aberdeen to Inverness Out of the 54 passengers on board only 5 people suffered minor injuries 11 Other technical details EditCoupling Code Blue Square Transmission Standard mechanicalPreservation EditOne trailer car survives at the Great Central Railway 59276 TSLRB References Edit a b c Class 120 Swindon 3 car DMUs Numbering Railcar co uk Retrieved 24 February 2016 a b c d Class 120 179 The Railway Centre Archived from the original on 9 March 2005 Retrieved 24 February 2016 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link a b c d e f g h i j k Vehicle Diagram Book No 220 for Diesel Multiple Unit Trains Railcars PDF Barrowmore MRG Derby British Railways Board 1982 DP204 DP205 DQ101 DQ303 DQ304 DT210 DT217 Archived from the original PDF on 21 January 2015 Retrieved 24 February 2016 Hemming 1978 pp 5 9 Fox 1987 pp 10 11 26 33 Fairclough Tony 1970 The story of Cornwall s railways Truro Tor Mark Press p 35 Vaughan 1983 p 56 Vaughan 1983 p 106 Vaughan 1983 p 87 a b Heginbotham 2010 p 56 Rail Express May 2018 Page 33 Sources Edit Fox Peter 1987 Multiple Unit Pocket Book British Railways Pocket Book No 2 Summer Autumn 1987 ed Platform 5 Publishing Ltd ISBN 0906579740 OCLC 613347580 Heginbotham Stephen 2010 Cornwall s Railways Remembered Halsgrove ISBN 978 0 85704 005 3 Hemming R August 1978 British Rail DMU EMU Allocation book National Railway Enthusiasts Association Vaughan John 1983 Diesels in the Duchy Shepperton Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 1326 8 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 120 The Railcar Association History of the Class 120 DMUs Picture of Class120 permanent dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title British Rail Class 120 amp oldid 1123477706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
