skdmu

The following pictures are a record of the variety of diesel multiple units to have visited the branch over the past 20 or so years. Almost all types that reached the terminus are featured, the exceptions being the 4TC set which did not actually arrive under its own power and was worked by two class 33's featured in Part One of this article.

We begin with a rare view of Departmental TDB 975310 which was built by the Gloucester RCW Co. in 1958 and used for route learning.

Also in departmental use was this Class 100 built by the Gloucester RCW. The "Stourton Saloon" was used for line inspections and visits by the Area Manager.

Class 101's Metro Cammel's were fairly frequent visitors to Skegness particularly during the latter years of first generation dmu operation. A three car set is seen here but , more commonly, the middle car was left out of the formation.

The demise of the Class 40's on the summer Saturdays through service from Manchester Piccadilly saw the replacement of the locomotive hauled train with dmu's. This resulted in the occasional appearance of Birmingham RCW class 104's, featured on such an occasion in this view. The class also occasionally appeared on excursions and on a local workings to Nottingham.

At the time it was difficult to imagine ever getting nostalgic about the Class 105 Cravens due to their rather poor quality of ride. Due to several being allocated to Lincoln it is not surprising that they were the second most common type of unit to work down the branch. An article Cravens Remembered in this site includes further details and illustrations about these.

Derby Class 108's were another type which appeared more frequently with the demise of locomotive hauled runs. Often several sets would be coupled together (or with other types) when operating Saturday through trains to / from the Midlands.

One member of the class was repainted into green livery in the latter part of its career. As an indication of how units sometimes found themselves travelling far and wide on the BR network, the writer has photographs of the same unit at Whitehaven in Cumbria ! Apologies for the poor quality of this photo due to grey weather !

One of the class which one had a headcode box is seen leaving at the head of the Saturday only Manchester service.

A class 114 in winter 1975. Just beyond can be sen the wago which was attached to some dmu's to transport the large quantities of parcels and newspapers once conveyed by rail.

A class 114 seen at Skegness before working the last service out which, at the time, was 1912.

The Derby Class 114's were the most frequently seen First Generation Dmu's which is hardly surprising bearing in mind the entire class were allocated to Lincoln depot. In The Lincoln Sets Remembered in this site we have further details and illustrations of these units.

Like the 108's, the Pressed Steel Class 117's were more frequently seen replacing locomotive hauled services frequently attached to other sets. The large number of doors on these compared to other units meant staff were kept busy before departure. Less popular were the occasional "non corridor" sets due to lack of access to toilet facilities.

Originally allocated to the Western Region, this smart GWR brown liveried set was transferred to Tysely and thuse made a few appearances in Skegness.

Gloucester RCW 119's were rare visitors to Skegness and this Western Region example appears to hace strayed well away from its home territory.

Although they were rare, rather ironically this Network South East liveried set was to be the very last First Generation Unit to work from Skegness !

51104 at Skegness

Class 120 Swindon sets were once relatively frequent visitors on through trains, excursions and the occasional local service from Nottingham. Compared to the Derby 114's (and especially the Cravens !) they were very comfortable to ride on.

A set passes the signal box on a local run to Nottingham. In their latter years, the middle car was sometimes replaced with a Class 101 middle carriage (as illustrated here) and odd ones worked as two car units.

Points trouble on a summer Sunday delays the arrival of these 120's. A problem serious enough to merit a trackside visit by the then Station Manager, Ben Rayner, seen in the grey suit on the right !

Just like the 108's and 117's, the Pressed Steel 121 "Bubble Cars" appeared as the era of locomotive hauled specials was ending. They usually worked attached to other formations (such as the 117 featured here. 55032 would more no doubt have traversed the Looe branch but was later transferred to Tysely.

55033 made a unique appearance in 1989 and worked on its own. It was also the only "Bubble Car" to wear the special West Midlands PTE livery. Despite the novelty value, the lack of toilet facilities on a journey of over two hours would no doubt have resulted in a less than comfortable journey for some passengers.

Another rare occasion saw Royal Mail Gloucester RCW Class 128 55993 arrive at the terminus attached to a 117 set. At least there would have been plenty of luggage and cycle space !

Further details, class histories and illustrations of the First Generation dmu's can be found at the excellent Railcar Site

Turning to the Second Generation Dmu's, the first types to work to Skegness were the 150's. The first one in passenger service had a fault on the platform side which resulted in it being the first (and so far only) SG Unit to use the crossover between platforms 4 & 5.

Gone were the forward and rear view through the cab of the dmu's - even seeing out of the side windows was not always possible with the poor spacing of seats in these units.

The arrival of 153 and 156 units saw the displacement of the Central 150 fleet to working Centro West Midlands services and were given a green livery for this purpose. Unfortunately, some still end up working to Skegness as is illustated here by 150002 attached to 156413 on Saturday, June 8th, 1996, working the first through train (ex 1240) to Mansfield Woodhouse for over 30 years.

Central's 150/2's have also since been allocated to Centro and repainted green. The first of the type to visit Skegness is seen here whilst stood on the now seldom used platform 2.

With the exception of the occasional EWS engineering train, all services along the Skegness branch are provided by Central Trains. It was therefore very unusual to see Wales & West 150242 photographed whilst it waited to work the 2M36 1927 to Nottingham on September 23rd, 1999. The unit was in fact on loan to Central Trains replacing another (150208) from Scotrail which had also visited Skegness earlier that year.

Single 153's are frowned upon by staff and passengers alike as, during the summer, insufficient seating capacity results in them arriving packed with passengers and luggage like sardine tins. 153365 is seen on October 2nd, 1999, on the first Saturday only 1514 through service to Aberystwyth as is displayed on the blind. Sadly, apart from us recording the event, there was little ceremony for the first ever through train from Skegnes to Wales operating Coast to Coast.

The longest ever formation of coupled 153's took place on July 11th, 1999, when no less than 5 were joined (325 / 366 / 333 / 379 / 329). It was to have worked the 1M86 1801 to Derby but, due to "Technical Problems" the rear 153 had to be removed prior to the 30 minute late departure.

The modern appearance of the 158 contrasts with the semaphore signalling as it approached the terminus.

158s were, at one time, rare visitors but more recently, with their displacement by 170's, appear fairly frequently.

The application of this special green Central Trains livery completely changes the appearance of this class 158 seen after arrival in summer 1999.

Introducing a new phenomenon - an attractive Second Generation Dmu ! This Turbostar class 170 (170502) is illustrated on August August 10th, 1999, when it was the first ever 170 at Skegness and is about to depart on the 2A75 1321 to Manchester Airport. Since then they have appeared frequently on service to Skegness.

Two car and three car class 170's coupled together as the result of an earlier failure on October 21st, 2000.

In present times it is rare to have many trains in Skegness station at any one time. This August Bank Holiday Monday 2000 view shows no less than four platforms occupied by two 170s, a 158 and a 153 unit.