Twin Squeaks: Know Your Pacer Units

An absolute beginners’ guide to Britain’s much maligned railbuses

The most commonplace constituent of the Pacer family, seen at Manchester Piccadilly railway station.

In the late 1970s, the railbus was a far from new concept for British Rail. There had been single car railbuses, such as those by Wickham seen on branch lines. By the dawn of the 1970s, most of the branch lines served by the single car DMUs had closed. Even so, some local routes such as the Penistone and Oldham-Rochdale Loop Lines were threatened with closure.

The start of the decade saw track layouts simplified: for example, the Atherton line was much downgraded from a main line route to a local one shorn of its quadruple track. Smaller stations saw their ticket offices and permanent buildings replaced by bus shelters. The ‘Basic Railway’ became a reality anywhere outside the prestigious Inter-City and Southern Region commuter routes.

Starting to emerge was the possibility of rail being a social good, even if it meant Paytrains and cheaper rolling stock.

Once Upon in the West of Cumbria…

The seeds of British Rail’s Pacer units were sown at a state-of-the-art British Leyland plant near Workington. A standard single decker bus – eventually the UK’s most successful integral bus – was under construction. Rolling off the production line in Lilyhall, in 1972 was the Leyland National. In what is now the Transport for Greater Manchester boundary, SELNEC PTE bought one of the first production class Leyland Nationals and began our conurbation’s 40+ ‘relationship’ with the Leyland National body.

By 1978, the Second Generation railbus became reality, when British Rail’s LEV1 entered service. In 1980, it was tested on revenue earning service in East Anglia and it was followed by the LEV2. Neither LEV1 nor LEV2 received TOPS numbers. There was also the R3 and RB004. The latter cab design would later surface on the Class 141.

The Pacer family was designed as a way of ensuring the retention of scheduled rail services in rural areas. They would have been a cheaper alternative to conventional DMUs on lightly used routes. Instead, a great many were – and still are – used on heavy commuter routes outside of London and South East England. Passenger demand outstripped the units in later years, leading to gross overcrowding in PTE areas. The ride quality and lightweight construction was – and remains – a grave concern among passengers and train crew today.

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Class 140

• Built: 1980;
• Number: 1;
• Top Speed: 75mph;
• Engine: Leyland TL11.

The first of what would be many Pacer units entered service in 1981 and toured the country. Many quibbled about the ride quality, which would be a common complaint among passengers since the Class 141. The main culprit was its wide axle base, a feature which will be seen in subsequent units. It ended its days on the Exeter – Gunnislake branch before being preserved by the Keith and Dufftown Railway.

Compared with its contemporaries, the Class 140 was narrower than standard BR rolling stock. This was owing to the narrower width of road vehicles compared with rail traction, and the Class 140’s width was equal to the former mode. Its original seating was more akin to dual purpose instead of standard bus seats, which would form the basis of Pacer units from 1980 onwards. Unusually for the Pacer class, its cab ends were more akin to the second generation DMUs, more so the Class 153/155, also built with a Leyland National body.

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Class 141

• Built: 1984;
• Number: 20;
• Top Speed: 75mph;
• Engine: Leyland TL11.

Whereas the Class 140 was a one-off, the first production units of the Class 141 would surface in West Yorkshire. Entering service in the spring of 1984, they were seen in the Metro West Yorkshire PTE verona green and buttermilk livery. Unlike the Class 140 which had doors at each end, the Class 141’s doors were slightly left of centre of each carriage. On launch, they became notorious for their unreliability and squealing. I remember seeing one first hand on a bay platform at York railway station, whilst waiting for my much superior Class 45 hauled rake of Mark 2s for Stalybridge.

In 1988, they were refurbished by Hunslet-Barclay. Reliability improved, and by then, they were seen in the dark red and cream Metro livery. Most of the Class 141s were sold to Iran, though a handful were preserved. Some of the lines which hitherto had Class 141s, such as the Airedale and Wharfedale lines were electrified, rendering the Class 141s obsolete. Initially, they were replaced by slam-door Class 308 EMUs before the arrival of Class 332s in 2001.

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Class 142

• Built: 1985 – 87;
• Number: 96;
• Top Speed: 75mph;
• Engine: Leyland TL11, later Cummins LTA10-R.

The most common constituent of the Pacer family are the Class 142 units, introduced between 1985 and 1987. Whereas the width of the Class 140 and Class 141 had similar dimensions to the Leyland National, the Class 142’s widths were set to BR standard carriage widths. This ensured compatibility with the second generation Sprinter DMUs too. As a consequence, its bus seating made for a 3+2 layout. Doors are seen at each cab end with a rear door at one end of each carriage. One of the rear doors faces a claustrophobic toilet. Till the mid-nineties, each doorway was split by a vertical pole, like the Leyland National buses.

In their early days of operation, they were most unreliable. So much so that it wasn’t uncommon to see First Generation DMUs or loco hauled stock deputising. Problems with the gearbox were rectified when the Leyland TL11 engines were replaced by Cummins LTA10-R engines.

In their 28 year existence, the Class 142s have seen numerous liveries and interiors. The Cornish examples had a Great Western Railway style of BR’s Provincial livery. There was the standard two tone blue BR livery, and various PTE liveries including Ken Mortimer’s orange and brown livery for GMPTE subsidised routes. All these were before privatisation! Owing to the bounciness on jointed track, they have been referred to as Nodding Donkeys, Spam Cans and Skippers.

Today, they still see regular service with National Rail’s Nodding Donkey Sanctuary being Newton Heath Diesel Depot. All 94 of the 96 which remain in service are expected to be withdrawn in 2020.

I remember my first taste of Class 142 action on the Oldham-Rochdale Loop Line in 1985 with my late Grandma. It seemed unusual to me being used to Class 104s, but I loved the mainly orange interior trim, its blue and brown seats, and the orange and brown GMPTE livery.

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Class 143

• Built: 1985 – 1986;
• Number: 25;
• Top Speed: 75mph;
• Engine: Leyland TL11, later Cummins LTA10-R.

Whilst the Class 142s were being built, Hunslet-Barclay and Walter Alexander built a further 25 members of the Pacer family. Whereas the Class 140, 141s and 142s retained the rooftop heating pod (seen on Leyland Nationals till 1978), the Class 143s eschewed this feature. They also had the same door positions as the Class 142s, and their cab ends looked less like those of a Leyland National.

The Class 143s were originally seen in the North East of England and like its mainly Mancunian counterparts, suffered from similar reliability problems. Like the 142s, the Leyland engines were replaced by Cummins ones.

Today, they are seen in South Wales and in South West England. Recent refurbishments have seen the replacement of bus seats with standard train seats, including the Chapman ones seen on Class 150 and 156s.

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Class 144

• Built: 1985 – 1987
• Number: 23;
• Top Speed: 75mph;
• Engine: Leyland TL11, later Cummins LTA10-R.

The last member of the Pacer family is the Class 144. Like the Class 143s, they were built by Walter Alexander and Hunslet-Barclay, though to Metro West Yorkshire PTE’s specifications. The Class 144s are the only member of the Pacer family available as 3 car units with a third carriage between front and rear cabs. 144001 – 144013 are twin cab units with the remainder being 3 car units. The centre carriage has doors at each end.

They have formed part of Metro West Yorkshire’s local services since the beginning. In more recent times, the Class 144s have been seen in Manchester Victoria on the Calder Valley line service to Leeds. In 2002, their bus style seats have been replaced with conventional train seats. Some have been refurbished with Northern Rail’s moquette.

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Where Next For The Pacers?

Owing to the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, all Pacer units are in breach of this law pertaining to public transport access. Therefore, all members of the Pacer family would have to be withdrawn by 2019 or 2020. Throughout Greater Manchester, a fair number of Pacers may be displaced by Electric Multiple Units, possibly the secondhand Class 319s from First Capital Connect or incumbent Class 323s. The Sprinter units may be seen well beyond 2020.

Will the present non-electrified routes still be using Sprinters in 2020? Or will there be a suitable replacement for the Pacer unit, either as a train-tram alternative or new DMU. Some sources presume that the Class 172 could be a suitable one, owing to its lightweight construction and proven operational record with London Overground and London Midland. The Siemens S70 Avanto has been hailed as a possible alternative for train-tram operation.

Beyond 2020, there’s ever chance that most of our Pacer units should be on the scrap heap, but time is running out if the 2019 to 2020 deadline needs to be fulfilled. There’s every chance more will enter the preservation movement with one such group, the Pacer Preservation Society aiming to preserve at least one member of the Pacer family.

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Before I go…

Feel free to comment on any members of the Pacer family. Whether you’re a paying passenger or a railway employee, feel free to discuss their foibles, nightmare journeys, or memorable ones for good reasons even.

S.V., 19 August 2013.