ScotRail (National Express) slam-door multiple units - Classes 101, 117 & 305

[Strathclyder]

Have always wanted to create a thread on these 'slammers'; this thread was created with their operations in the National Express era in mind, but I won't exclude discussion regarding their operations in the latter years of ScotRail under BR as it's kinda unavoidable.

These three classes in ScotRail service have always fascinated me, especially given I have no memories of them (the only Mk1-based ScR MU I have any memories of at all are sliding door-fitted 303s). Any memories members may have of them, notable workings and anything else related to them are welcome here.

 

[Helvellyn]

Many of the Class 101s wore Stratchclyde Orange and Black and were Power Twins (DMBS-DMCL). I think they were a stop-gap due to some reopenings and possibly a need for more stock. Before privatisation there was a suggested Class 157 for Strathcylde but it never got off the drawing board. I assume it might have replaced the PTE sponsored 101s and 156s.

I think some 3-car 101s were based at Haymarket alongside the 117s that were refurbished and transferred North from Tysley. I think a shortage of stock within Regional Railways necessitated first generation DMUs being used on Edinburgh Suburban work.

The Class 305s were ex-Network SouthEast and were refurbished for the North Berwick services when the ECML was electrified. They were based at Shields Depot in Glasgow and worked to/from there via Carstairs. I think there was 4 units to cover the service.

I'm sure someone can give more detail!

 

[Strathclyder]

The Class 305s were ex-Network SouthEast and were refurbished for the North Berwick services when the ECML was electrified. They were based at Shields Depot in Glasgow and worked to/from there via Carstairs. I think there was 4 units to cover the service.

I'm sure someone can give more detail!

This one I can answer with some confidence lol There were 5 305s transferred north for the North Berwick service upon it's electrification: these being 305501, 305502, 305508, 305517 & 305519. All retained their original 4-car formation right to the very end of their lives, with 517 being the last to be withdrawn in January 2002. On a related note, weren't these the last of the 'dinosaur'-style of BR EMU to remain in service?

 

[seagull]

I recall making a trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow specifically to see the 117s and 101s in I think the late 1990s, and at that time there were only a very few remaining 117 sets in Edinburgh (no 101s) on Fife Circle peak hour services. The 101s were all 2-car power twins out of Glasgow Central to Whifflet and Barrhead almost exclusively IIRC.

I'll have to dig out my photos sometime.

 

[tbtc]

I recall making a trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow specifically to see the 117s and 101s in I think the late 1990s, and at that time there were only a very few remaining 117 sets in Edinburgh (no 101s) on Fife Circle peak hour services.

From memory, the 117s had the middle car removed and worked as permanently coupled up pairs (i.e. four coaches)

I preferred the 101s, as they were "native" Scottish DMUs (because I was young and petty, and the 117s felt like "hand me downs", even though the 117s were marginally younger) - I always liked the 101s on the other side of the country, partly because they felt like "ours" but also because they felt like they were either keeping marginal routes alive or that these ancient trains were the only thing keeping Scotland from Pacers - or, later, 153s)

 

[Scotrail84]

From memory, the 117s had the middle car removed and worked as permanently coupled up pairs (i.e. four coaches)

I preferred the 101s, as they were "native" Scottish DMUs (because I was young and petty, and the 117s felt like "hand me downs", even though the 117s were marginally younger) - I always liked the 101s on the other side of the country, partly because they felt like "ours" but also because they felt like they were either keeping marginal routes alive or that these ancient trains were the only thing keeping Scotland from Pacers - or, later, 153s)

My memory is telling me different, the 117s were all 3 cars until they were withdrawn were they not? At least thats what I remember. I could be wrong. I know Haymarket had a job on their hands keeping them going for so long as they were very prone to failures in their last few years of service. I remember seeing a 9 car 117 set returning from Fife to Edinburgh, one or two of the sets undoubtedly an failure and rescued by another 117.

 

[Strathclyder]

From memory, the 117s had the middle car removed and worked as permanently coupled up pairs (i.e. four coaches)

I preferred the 101s, as they were "native" Scottish DMUs (because I was young and petty, and the 117s felt like "hand me downs", even though the 117s were marginally younger) - I always liked the 101s on the other side of the country, partly because they felt like "ours" but also because they felt like they were either keeping marginal routes alive or that these ancient trains were the only thing keeping Scotland from Pacers - or, later, 153s)

My memory is telling me different, the 117s were all 3 cars until they were withdrawn were they not? At least thats what I remember. I could be wrong. I know Haymarket had a job on their hands keeping them going for so long as they were very prone to failures in their last few years of service. I remember seeing a 9 car 117 set returning from Fife to Edinburgh, one or two of the sets undoubtedly an failure and rescued by another 117.

You both are correct in regards to the 117s formation.

The 117s ran in their original 3-car formation from their arrival until September 1999 when the centre cars of the surviving units (the TCL or Trailer Composite with Lavatory) were removed and they were ran as pairs (I.E four coaches) for the last 2 months of the type's ScR tenure (the last examples were withdrawn in late November 1999). Given that they only operated in the latter formation for about 2 months, I've not found any pics of them in this form, pics of them in their 3-car form are comparatively easy to find, as below:

117308 EDB 1705 Fife Circle 6-2-99

Scotrail acquired some class 117s as a stopgap in the late 90s and on 6 February 1999, we see 117310 awaiting departure from Waverley on the 1705 Fife Circle. The ghostly images on the far left are a reminder of when such photos needed a tripod and time exposure!

www.flickr.com

117301 Perth 1727 ex-EDB via Dunfermline 29-3-99

In the twilight of "heritage" DMU operation, 117301 arrives at Perth on 29 March 1999 on the 1727 from Edinburgh via Dunfermline.

www.flickr.com

117301 990601 Edinburgh img726_edited

First Generation DMU's lasted until 1999 in Scotland with both the Class 101 and 117's being displaced by reallocation in the case of the 101's to Manchester and withdrawal for the Class 117's Also on 1st June 1999 117301 leaves Edinburgh with the 1620 service to Fife.

www.flickr.com

117306GB_170999

ScotRail (National Express) Class 117 3-car DMU No. 117306 (51411+59521+51369) Stabled @ Edinburgh Waverley station, Scotland, September 17th, 1999. 1280 x 840

www.flickr.com

(copyright of linked images remain with Flickr's 6089Gardner, Steve Robinson & Catcliffe Demon respectively)

@tbtc That may be true, but one must keep in mind the 117s were built by Pressed Steel at Linwood, so a few of them had come (most of the way!) home.

 

[Falcon1200]

I know Haymarket had a job on their hands keeping them going for so long as they were very prone to failures in their last few years of service.

Indeed, evening peak Class 117 services from Edinburgh were doing well if they got past Haymarket......

Perhaps the most extreme incident involving Scotrail's Class 101 sets was the morning of 17th November 1999, when a Whifflet ECS, turning at Mossend Yard, caught fire, destroying vehicles 51431 and 51501 and causing huge disruption; Not only was the route blocked, the OLE melted !

Accident 17/11/99 Near Mossend Yard, ScR

The history of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs / railcars) in Britain.

www.railcar.co.uk

 

[tbtc]

My memory is telling me different, the 117s were all 3 cars until they were withdrawn were they not? At least thats what I remember. I could be wrong. I know Haymarket had a job on their hands keeping them going for so long as they were very prone to failures in their last few years of service. I remember seeing a 9 car 117 set returning from Fife to Edinburgh, one or two of the sets undoubtedly an failure and rescued by another 117.

You both are correct in regards to the 117s formation.

The 117s ran in their original 3-car formation from their arrival until September 1999 when the centre cars of the surviving units (the TCL or Trailer Composite with Lavatory) were removed and they were ran as pairs (I.E four coaches) for the last 2 months of the type's ScR tenure (the last examples were withdrawn in late November 1999). Given that they only operated in the latter formation for about 2 months, I've not found any pics of them in this form, pics of them in their 3-car form are comparatively easy to find, as below:

117308 EDB 1705 Fife Circle 6-2-99

Scotrail acquired some class 117s as a stopgap in the late 90s and on 6 February 1999, we see 117310 awaiting departure from Waverley on the 1705 Fife Circle. The ghostly images on the far left are a reminder of when such photos needed a tripod and time exposure!

www.flickr.com

117301 Perth 1727 ex-EDB via Dunfermline 29-3-99

In the twilight of "heritage" DMU operation, 117301 arrives at Perth on 29 March 1999 on the 1727 from Edinburgh via Dunfermline.

www.flickr.com

117301 990601 Edinburgh img726_edited

First Generation DMU's lasted until 1999 in Scotland with both the Class 101 and 117's being displaced by reallocation in the case of the 101's to Manchester and withdrawal for the Class 117's Also on 1st June 1999 117301 leaves Edinburgh with the 1620 service to Fife.

www.flickr.com

117306GB_170999

ScotRail (National Express) Class 117 3-car DMU No. 117306 (51411+59521+51369) Stabled @ Edinburgh Waverley station, Scotland, September 17th, 1999. 1280 x 840

www.flickr.com

(copyright of linked images remain with Flickr's 6089Gardner, Steve Robinson & Catcliffe Demon respectively)

@tbtc That may be true, but one must keep in mind the 117s were built by Pressed Steel at Linwood, so a few of them had come (most of the way!) home.

How interesting!

@Scotrail84 's memory is better than mine, I must have pictures somewhere of the 117s in the final days (but lord knows where!) which probably clouded my judgement - in the days before digital cameras, I did that thing of only taking pictures of some things when they were on their way out, rather than "everyday" pictures (which means a lot of things look quite bedraggled because they weren't being maintained particularly well because their days were limited)

And I now find that my prejudices about the 117s were wrong too - I didn't realise that at the time - Linwood No More, eh?

(looking at those pictures, it's funny how things come full circle - I remember the days when the Ladybank - Perth line was served by occasional extensions of the Dunfermline trains - back in the days when the Inverness services generally went via Stirling - now we are seeing this proposed as ScotRail's way of adapting to post-Covid passenger numbers - and the significant reductions to the Kirkcaldy route - the more things change, the more they stay the same...)

 

[hexagon789]

I recall making a trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow specifically to see the 117s and 101s in I think the late 1990s, and at that time there were only a very few remaining 117 sets in Edinburgh (no 101s) on Fife Circle peak hour services. The 101s were all 2-car power twins out of Glasgow Central to Whifflet and Barrhead almost exclusively IIRC.

I'll have to dig out my photos sometime.

There was a brief period immediately after Sprinterisation where the only "heritage DMUs" ScotRail operated were 107s I understand. Issues were subsequently discovered with the structural integrity of the units and they were withdrawn but the introduction of the 158s enabled the 156s to broadly replace the 107s anyway during 1991.

 

[JonathanH]

There was a brief period immediately after Sprinterisation where the only "heritage DMUs" ScotRail operated were 107s I understand. Issues were subsequently discovered with the structural integrity of the units and they were withdrawn but the introduction of the 158s enabled the 156s to broadly replace the 107s anyway during 1991.

It was the reintroduction of services to Barrhead, Maryhill, Whifflet, Paisley Canal, Motherwell to Cumbernauld in the early 1990s that reintroduced the need for heritage units around Glasgow and the falling through of the class 157 order. Ultimately, the 170 > 158 > 156 > 101 cascade allowed their withdrawal.

Presumably 117s around Edinburgh arose because there weren't enough 150s for the peak capacity - the 150s themselves being seen off by the later 170s.

 

[Scotrail84]

It was the reintroduction of services to Barrhead, Maryhill, Whifflet, Paisley Canal, Motherwell to Cumbernauld in the early 1990s that reintroduced the need for heritage units around Glasgow and the falling through of the class 157 order. Ultimately, the 170 > 158 > 156 > 101 cascade allowed their withdrawal.

Presumably 117s around Edinburgh arose because there weren't enough 150s for the peak capacity - the 150s themselves being seen off by the later 170s.

Which was a mistake imo, the 150s were brilliant for the circles, Dunblanes, Bathgates etc. 2 by 3 seating and plenty standing room. I know they couldn't but ScotRail should have kept hold of the 150s for longer. They hardly gave you any bother.

Indeed, evening peak Class 117 services from Edinburgh were doing well if they got past Haymarket......

Perhaps the most extreme incident involving Scotrail's Class 101 sets was the morning of 17th November 1999, when a Whifflet ECS, turning at Mossend Yard, caught fire, destroying vehicles 51431 and 51501 and causing huge disruption; Not only was the route blocked, the OLE melted !

Accident 17/11/99 Near Mossend Yard, ScR

The history of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs / railcars) in Britain.

www.railcar.co.uk

Not unusual for them to be down to 1 engine by Dalmeny.

 

[JonathanH]

Which was a mistake imo, the 150s were brilliant for the circles, Dunblanes, Bathgates etc. 2 by 3 seating and plenty standing room. I know they couldn't but ScotRail should have kept hold of the 150s for longer. They hardly gave you any bother.

Presumably Scotrail could make a case for procuring 170s (ie 170450-170461) whereas the Wales franchise couldn't so the 150s were released from Scotland to Wales.

Is there an element of 'I know they couldn't' to it - presumably the people in charge saw the 170s as an upgrade.

 

[Scotrail84]

Presumably Scotrail could make a case for procuring 170s (ie 170450-170461) whereas the Wales franchise couldn't so the 150s were released from Scotland to Wales.

Is there an element of 'I know they couldn't' to it - presumably the people in charge saw the 170s as an upgrade.

I think the whole idea was the 170s coming in from 1999 onwards, replacing the 158s on the E and G's as well as the Inverness and Aberdeen services out of Edinburgh and Glasgow enabled the 158s to be cascaded to duties the 150s were covering which in turn released the 150s to go to Wales around 2005 and it also seen the end for the 117s a few years earlier. I think four 150s were retained for a few months extra to cover peak time services while delivery of more 170s took place but they were all gone in 2006 IIRC. The 170s were pressed into service almost immediately on delivery, some units in all over white with no livery painted on the as I think ScotRail were that short of units at he time. ScotRail left themselves with 170's, 158s and and 156s all with different top speeds and a bit of a ball ache keeping to time if they mixed and matched units which was fairly common.

 

[JonathanH]

Yes, but there were multiple 170 builds.

Broadly, I think that:
170401-170424 displaced the 158s to replace 156s so that the heritage units could drop out the bottom.
170425-170434 further released 158s, noting that 158737/42-46 were sent to TPE / Wessex
170450-170461 were about 150 replacement.
170470-170478 allowed some redeployment of 156s and 158s to allow for longer formations.

170393-170396 and the later extra 158s (158782/86/89/867-871) fit in somewhere as well.

For the point of this thread, 24 170s were enough to see off the 101s and 117s.

 

[dubscottie]

The 107s were withdrawn as they were knackered and were not on Regional Railways "long life" list.
They were replaced on the Fife circle by a couple of unrefurbished 3 car 101s (some in NSE) and a few refurbished 3 car 101s in RR livery.
When units were needed for Glasgow, the refurbished 101s were reduced to 2 car and repainted in Strathclyde livery and in turn were replaced by 117s made redundant by the Birmingham cross-city electrification.
There was a good article in RAIL at the time.

 

[Strathclyder]

Interesting discussion thus far, not surprising that the 101s and 117s have been the main focus; poor old 305s have been left out for the most part lol

I think the whole idea was the 170s coming in from 1999 onwards, replacing the 158s on the E and G's as well as the Inverness and Aberdeen services out of Edinburgh and Glasgow enabled the 158s to be cascaded to duties the 150s were covering which in turn released the 150s to go to Wales around 2005 and it also seen the end for the 117s a few years earlier. I think four 150s were retained for a few months extra to cover peak time services while delivery of more 170s took place but they were all gone in 2006 IIRC. The 170s were pressed into service almost immediately on delivery, some units in all over white with no livery painted on the as I think ScotRail were that short of units at he time. ScotRail left themselves with 170's, 158s and and 156s all with different top speeds and a bit of a ball ache keeping to time if they mixed and matched units which was fairly common.

The last ScR 150 (150258) left Haymarket in March 2005 for Cardiff. Here it is at Abington en-route (linked image from the Ewan/Maccookie Flickr stream). Someone with a sense of humour has clearly been messing about with the blind!

FScR 150258, Abington

First ScotRail's last Classs 150, 150258, heads south from Haymarket Depot to Cardiff

www.flickr.com

Perhaps the most extreme incident involving Scotrail's Class 101 sets was the morning of 17th November 1999, when a Whifflet ECS, turning at Mossend Yard, caught fire, destroying vehicles 51431 and 51501 and causing huge disruption; Not only was the route blocked, the OLE melted !

Accident 17/11/99 Near Mossend Yard, ScR

The history of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs / railcars) in Britain.

www.railcar.co.uk

Have heard about this incident (the set number was 101688 for those curious) from multiple sources over the years, interesting to finally see a few pictures of it. The 101 working with 688 (101695) was scorched at one cab-end, but was repaired and returned to service; was ultimately transferred to First North Western at Longsight.

How interesting!

@Scotrail84 's memory is better than mine, I must have pictures somewhere of the 117s in the final days (but lord knows where!) which probably clouded my judgement - in the days before digital cameras, I did that thing of only taking pictures of some things when they were on their way out, rather than "everyday" pictures (which means a lot of things look quite bedraggled because they weren't being maintained particularly well because their days were limited)

And I now find that my prejudices about the 117s were wrong too - I didn't realise that at the time - Linwood No More, eh?

Hey, we're all guilty of that to varying degrees; for me it was the 314s while passing up most other things (although I didn't/don't have the excuse of film cameras and the limitations therewith lol). If you ever find those 117 pics, I'd love to see 'em.

That there is a contentous statement: some mourn Linwood while others are glad to see the back of it even now. Best left for another thread me thinks.

 

[d9009alycidon]

What did not receive a whole lot of publicity was that a pair of class 307s were sent north for trials prior to the 305s being brought into use. Here is one at Waverley https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert55012/6473570027/ and another at Shields Depot (my photo) there was actually another one there that day round in the yard but it was difficult to photograph



Jim

 

[Helvellyn]

What did not receive a whole lot of publicity was that a pair of class 307s were sent north for trials prior to the 305s being brought into use. Here is one at Waverley https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert55012/6473570027/ and another at Shields Depot (my photo) there was actually another one there that day round in the yard but it was difficult to photograph

View attachment 105401

Jim

That's interesting. I wonder if they were thinking of transferring the sets facelifted for the WYPTE Leeds-Doncaster services that would become surplus with the delivery of the 321/9s.

 

[tbtc]

The last ScR 150 (150258) left Haymarket in March 2005 for Cardiff. Here it is at Abington en-route (linked image from the Ewan/Maccookie Flickr stream). Someone with a sense of humour has clearly been messing about with the blind!

FScR 150258, Abington

First ScotRail's last Classs 150, 150258, heads south from Haymarket Depot to Cardiff

www.flickr.com

The (National Express) ScotRail livery looked wonderful on a 150 - I quite liked the general colour scheme that they used on trains but the "swooshes" were a bit divisive - however the simple horizontal bands makes it look like an upgrade to the old Regional Railways style livery, that really suited them - cheers for sharing

 

[Bikeman78]

I recall making a trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow specifically to see the 117s and 101s in I think the late 1990s, and at that time there were only a very few remaining 117 sets in Edinburgh (no 101s) on Fife Circle peak hour services. The 101s were all 2-car power twins out of Glasgow Central to Whifflet and Barrhead almost exclusively IIRC.

I'll have to dig out my photos sometime.

The 101s also ran to Paisley Canal and one set did Motherwell to Cumbernauld.

In the late 1990s there were six class 117s to cover five diagrams which were peaks only. I think they ran all day for a few weeks right at the end because the diagrams were rewritten but there weren't quite enough class 170s to displace all the 117s.

Indeed, evening peak Class 117 services from Edinburgh were doing well if they got past Haymarket......

The few runs I had on them went okay. In July 1999 they ran out to Carnoustie for the Golf. I had a pair from Carnoustie into Edinburgh in the evening and another pair out to Dundee the following morning. When I got off there was a single 117 close behind going to Aberdeen. Not sure if this was vice a class 158 on a scheduled train or another Golf relief train. If there hadn't been two winner class 37s out around Crewe I'd probably have gone to Aberdeen.

 

[Strathclyder]

The (National Express) ScotRail livery looked wonderful on a 150 - I quite liked the general colour scheme that they used on trains but the "swooshes" were a bit divisive - however the simple horizontal bands makes it look like an upgrade to the old Regional Railways style livery, that really suited them - cheers for sharing

Yeah, it's one of those 'marmite' liveries that emerged in the kaleidoscope of early privatisation liveries*. I personally liked it, while acknowledging the normal variant (on the 156s/158s/170s) could be a tad 'busy' for some. Upon reflection, the variant the 150s were given is more restrained and can be seen as a updated 'RR' scheme (much in the same vein as the livery SWT used on the slammers & 455s basically being a updated NSE livery). No worries BTW; Flickr is a goldmine for this kinda stuff.

*: I feel a thread on such liveries coming on...

What did not receive a whole lot of publicity was that a pair of class 307s were sent north for trials prior to the 305s being brought into use. Here is one at Waverley https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert55012/6473570027/ and another at Shields Depot (my photo) there was actually another one there that day round in the yard but it was difficult to photograph

View attachment 105401

Jim

Was the other 307 in NSE livery perchance? Only reason I ask is because I found these when I searched 'Class 307 Waverley' on Flickr (image copyrights remain with Callum Colville & edinburgh75 respectively).

307117

This is class 307 EMU, 307117 seen here at Edinburgh, in Network South East livery. It is has been mentioned that this was on some form of training duties.

www.flickr.com

Edinburgh's first Electric

The 11.00 am HST from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross gets underway in a haze of exhaust, led by 43093 "York Festival '88". On the right is a very unusual visitor to Edinburgh - former Great Eastern lines Class 307 EMU no. 307 117. This was the first 25 kV electric train of any kind...

www.flickr.com

For some reason, I thought it was a NSE 302 that had been sent north, but in my defense, they and the 307s look remarkably similar from the front lol

 

[route101]

I recall the Class 101s in the late 90s. They were mostly on Whifflet and Barrhead services, though made occasional turns on East Kilbride services.

 

[dubscottie]

Regarding the 307s.. They were BRs choice for the North Berwick service but the Cannon St accident happened and Lothian Regional Council (who part financed the NB wiring) were concerned that the units looked too similar and would create adverse publicity.
BR then provided some 305s that were supposed to go to NW England to replace the last 304s.
The press at the time reported that the 305s were to be painted in Lothian maroon livery (like the buses) but they all came out in RR livery instead.

 

[alangla]

Not unusual for them to be down to 1 engine by Dalmeny.

Certainly not unusual for the 101s to be running on 3 engines and I certainly remember having a couple that were power-trailers (I.e. 2 dead engines on one car). They were glacially slow on 4 engines, slower still on 3 and barely moving on 2. Despite theoretically being less powerful, the 156s felt much, much faster.
The clouds of smoke from the 101s were something to behold, even at idle. Counting them was the usual way to tell how many engines were running.
In saying all that, a front seat on the rare occasions when the driver either opened the blinds or left the cab door open was great.

One possibly daft question: on arrival at Central, the driver always wound a large wheel on the second man’s side. Presumably this was the handbrake? Was it only ever in one cab? I also don’t ever recall seeing a driver release one, they just seemed to get in and hook on their reverser handle and vac brake handle.

 

[Scotrail84]

Certainly not unusual for the 101s to be running on 3 engines and I certainly remember having a couple that were power-trailers (I.e. 2 dead engines on one car). They were glacially slow on 4 engines, slower still on 3 and barely moving on 2. Despite theoretically being less powerful, the 156s felt much, much faster.
The clouds of smoke from the 101s were something to behold, even at idle. Counting them was the usual way to tell how many engines were running.
In saying all that, a front seat on the rare occasions when the driver either opened the blinds or left the cab door open was great.

One possibly daft question: on arrival at Central, the driver always wound a large wheel on the second man’s side. Presumably this was the handbrake? Was it only ever in one cab? I also don’t ever recall seeing a driver release one, they just seemed to get in and hook on their reverser handle and vac brake handle.

Thats the manual handbrake which would have to be released before setting off from the other end otherwise you'd get severe wheel flats and a please explain. Mk1 and Mk2 brake vans had them as well as an emergency brake cock. If you you look at platform 4 at Edinburgh theres still an old sign that says 'manually apply handbrake' at the buffer end, a reminder when slam door stock used to berth there.

 

[hexagon789]

Certainly not unusual for the 101s to be running on 3 engines and I certainly remember having a couple that were power-trailers (I.e. 2 dead engines on one car). They were glacially slow on 4 engines, slower still on 3 and barely moving on 2. Despite theoretically being less powerful, the 156s felt much, much faster.
The clouds of smoke from the 101s were something to behold, even at idle. Counting them was the usual way to tell how many engines were running.

Shortly after the Ayr Depot fire, when many DMU vehicles were lost and ScotRail ended up with very hotch-potch formations including some cars lent from various English depots, there waw a 3-car 101 set made up with only one power car, a trailer and driving trailer.

It was intended to be restricted to working only in a six-car set at peak times initially, but as you can imagine- needs must. It was therefore pressed into service on its own but was nominally restricted to Glasgow Central-EK/Barrhead services only due to having only two engines but I understand the set made it to Kilmarnock once by accident and promptly failed to make the return trip under its own, err, 'smoke'.

 

[Bikeman78]

Certainly not unusual for the 101s to be running on 3 engines and I certainly remember having a couple that were power-trailers (I.e. 2 dead engines on one car). They were glacially slow on 4 engines, slower still on 3 and barely moving on 2. Despite theoretically being less powerful, the 156s felt much, much faster.
The clouds of smoke from the 101s were something to behold, even at idle. Counting them was the usual way to tell how many engines were running.
In saying all that, a front seat on the rare occasions when the driver either opened the blinds or left the cab door open was great.

One possibly daft question: on arrival at Central, the driver always wound a large wheel on the second man’s side. Presumably this was the handbrake? Was it only ever in one cab? I also don’t ever recall seeing a driver release one, they just seemed to get in and hook on their reverser handle and vac brake handle.

A power twin class 101 could keep to Sprinter schedules no problem. I had the pleasure of a cab ride from Manchester to Sheffield and back. The driver was very impressed with the imported 101s from Scotland. He said they were as fast as a 158 on the grades over the Hope Valley.

 

[tom1649]

A power twin class 101 could keep to Sprinter schedules no problem. I had the pleasure of a cab ride from Manchester to Sheffield and back. The driver was very impressed with the imported 101s from Scotland. He said they were as fast as a 158 on the grades over the Hope Valley.

I agree. A power twin unit in good condition was a joy on the Hope Valley, and far superior in warmth and comfort to the Pacers that replaced them.

I remember seeing the 117s around Edinburgh in the summer of 1999 but sadly never managed to ride one.

 

[Falcon1200]

I understand the set made it to Kilmarnock once by accident and promptly failed to make the return trip under its own, err, 'smoke'.

The climb from Barrhead to Shilford works the Class 156 sets hard, so I'm not at all surprised ! I wonder how long it took the set (3 cars but only 1 power car) to get to Kilmarnock ?