British Rail Class 108

British Rail Class 108
Class 108 DMU, nos. 50980 and 52054, at Bodmin on 28 August 2003. This unit is preserved on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in Cornwall.
Driver's cab, with the signal token in the middle
In service	1958–1990
Manufacturer	British Railways
Built at	Derby Works
Constructed	1958–1961
Number built	DMBS: 152, DMCL: 58, DTCL: 106, TSL: 11, TBSL: 6. Total: 333 cars
Formation	2, 3, or 4-car sets
Capacity	DMBS: 52 second class, DMCL: 12 first 53 second, DTCL: 12 first 53 second, TSL: 68 second class, TBSL: 50 second class
Operator(s)	British Rail
Specifications
Car length	58 ft 1 in (17.70 m)
Width	9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Height	12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
Maximum speed	70 mph (113 km/h)
Weight	Power cars: 29.5 tonnes (29.0 long tons; 32.5 short tons), Trailer cars: 21.5 to 23.5 tonnes (21.2 to 23.1 long tons; 23.7 to 25.9 short tons)
Prime mover(s)	Two BUT (AEC) then BUT (Leyland)
Power output	150 bhp (110 kW) per engine
Transmission	Mechanical: 4-speed epicyclic gearbox
Safety system(s)	AWS
Multiple working	■ Blue Square
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm)

The British Rail Class 108 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby from 1958 to 1961, with a final production quantity of 333 vehicles.

Class 108 DMU, nos. 56208 and 51935, at Bewdley on 15 October 2004. This unit is preserved on the Severn Valley Railway.

These units stayed in regular service until 1990, when they began to be withdrawn from traffic. They were replaced on regional services by the new "Sprinter" derivative units, or by "Turbo" units on services around London. The final units lasted in traffic until October 1993, although many saw further use in departmental service, as sandite or route-learner units. Good condition on withdrawal and lack of asbestos has ensured that many of this class are now used on preserved railway lines.

Orders

Lot No.	Car type	Qty	Fleet No.	Notes
30406	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	26	50599–50624	ER power-trailer and power-twin sets
30407	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	5	50625–50629	LMR power-trailer sets
30408	Driving Motor Composite with lavatory (DMCL)	17	50630–50646	ER power-twin and four-car sets
30409	Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory (DTCL)	21	56190–56210	ER power-trailer sets
30410	Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory (DTCL)	5	56211–56215	LMR power-trailer sets
30411	Trailer Second with lavatory (TSL)	6	59380–59385	ER four-car sets
30412	Trailer Brake Second with lavatory (TBSL)	6	59245–59250	ER four-car sets
30460	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	12	50924–50935	LMR power-twin sets
30461	Driving Motor Composite with lavatory (DMCL)	12	51561–51572	LMR power-twin sets
30465	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	50	50938–50987	LMR power-trailer sets
30466	Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory (DTCL)	50	56221–56270	LMR power-trailer sets
30493	Trailer Second with lavatory (TSL)	5	59386–59390	ER (power-twin to) three-car sets
30498	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	9	51416–51424	LMR power-trailer sets
30499	Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory (DTCL)	9	56271–56279	LMR power-trailer sets
30601	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)	50	51901–51950	LMR power-trailer and power-twin sets
30602	Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory (DTCL)	21	56484–56504	LMR power-trailer sets
30660	Driving Motor Composite with lavatory (DMCL)	29	52037–52065	LMR power-twin sets

Accidents and incidents

On 19 October 1987, the Glanrhyd Bridge over the River Towy at Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire collapsed as a passenger train operated by a Class 108 unit crossed it. Four people were killed.^[1]
On 22 August 1990, a three-car Class 108 unit overran a signal and was in a head-on collision with a two-car Class 108 unit at Hyde Junction, Cheshire. Twenty-eight people were injured.^[1]

Preservation

Many vehicles have been preserved on heritage railways. None are currently certified for use on the main line - although the Swanage Railway's set was hauled from the railway to Eastleigh and back, for overhaul - and is believed to be the first class 108 to have been seen on main lines for a very long time.

Set number	Vehicle numbers			Livery	Location	Notes
Set number	DMBS	TCL	DMCL	Livery	Location	Notes
-	50599	-	-	BR Blue	East Anglian Railway Museum	Operational
-	50619	59387	51566	BR Green	Dean Forest Railway	Operational
-	50628	-	-	BR Green	Keith and Dufftown Railway	Operational
-	52044 (DMCL)	-	50632	BR Blue and Grey	Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway	Stored
-	50926	-	50645	BR Blue and Grey	Great Central Railway	Under Restoration
-	50928	-	51565	BR Green	Keighley and Worth Valley Railway	Operational
-	50933	-	52064	BR Green	Severn Valley Railway	Operational
-	50971	-	51571	BR Green	Kent and East Sussex Railway	Operational
-	50980	-	52054	BR Green	Bodmin and Wenford Railway	Operational
-	51922	-	51562	BR Green (51922) and BR Blue (51562)	East Kent Railway	Operational
-	-	-	51567	BR Blue and Grey	Midland Railway - Butterley	Stored
-	56274(DTCL)	-	-	United Steel Red and Grey	Wensleydale Railway	Stored
-	-	-	51572	BR Green	Wensleydale Railway	Stored
-	51907	-	56490(DTCL)	BR Blue and Grey	Llangollen Railway	Operational
-	51909	-	56271(DTCL)	BR Green	East Somerset Railway	Operational
-	51914	-	56492(DTCL)	BR Green	Dean Forest Railway	Operational
-	51919	-	52048	BR Blue	Garw Valley Railway	Operational
-	51933	-	56504(DTCL)	BR Green	Swanage Railway	Operational
-	51937	-	56484(DTCL)	BR White Stripe	Midland Railway - Butterley	Stored
-	51941	-	-	BR Green	Severn Valley Railway	Operational
-	51942	-	56270(DTCL)	Network South East/BR Blue and Grey	Mid-Norfolk Railway	Stored
-	51947	-	-	BR Blue and Grey	Bodmin and Wenford Railway	Stored as a source for spare parts
-	51950	-	52062	Chocolate and Cream	Telford Steam Railway	Operational
-	-	-	52044	BR Blue and Grey	Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway	Operational
-	-	-	52053	BR Green	Keith and Dufftown Railway	Operational
-	-	59245(TBSL)	54207(DTCL)	Blood and Custard	Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society	Operational
-	-	-	56208(DTCL)	BR Green	Severn Valley Railway	Operational
-	51618(Class 127)	-	56223(DTCL)	BR Green	East Anglian Railway Museum	Operational
-	-	-	56224(DTCL)	BR Green	Keith and Dufftown Railway	Operational
-	-	-	56279(DTCL)	BR Green	Lavender Line	Operational
-	-	-	56491(DTCL)	BR Green	Keith and Dufftown Railway	Operational
-	-	-	56495(DTCL)	BR Green	Kirklees Light Railway	Static Display
-	-	59250(TBSL)	-	BR Green	Severn Valley Railway	Operational

References

1 2 Vaughan, Adrian (2003) [2000]. Tracks to Disaster. Hersham: Ian Allan. pp. 53–61, 100–04. ISBN 0 7110 2985 7.

Sources

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 108.

Diesel multiple units of Great Britain

First generation units:	100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131

First Generation Original TOPS:	140 141 142 143 144 145 147 148 149 150 160 161 162 163 164 166 167 168 169 171 172 173 175 176 177 178 179 180 182 183 185 186 188 189 190

First generation units (pre-TOPS):	British United Traction Derby Lightweight Metro-Cammell Railbus GWR railcars LMS railcars

Second generation units:	139 140 141 142 143 144 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 165 166 168 170 171 172 175 180 (I) 180 (II) 185 195

Diesel-electric units:	201 202 203 204 205 206 207 210 220 221 222 230 251 252 253 254 255

Diesel-electric units Original TOPS:	201 /1 /2 /3 202 /1 /2 /3 203 211 /1 /2 /3 212 221 /1 /2 /3 222 /1 /2 223 /1 /2 /3 224 225 251 261

Bi-Mode units:	800 802

Southern Region designations:	2H 3D 3H 3R 3T 4L 6B 6L 6S

Families	A-Train Civity Coradia Desiro HST Networker Pacer PPM Sprinter Turbostar Voyager

British railcars and diesel multiple units Diesel locomotives Electric locomotives Miscellaneous locomotives Diesel multiple units Electric multiple units Departmental multiple units Rolling stock of Network SouthEast

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