KNOW YOUR STUFF
KNOW YOUR… LIVERIES
PART 3: Class 101s in the BR blue era.
Paul Chancellor examines the post-1960s evolution of the ever-popular Metro-Cammell Class 101 DMUs.
British Railways issued its ‘go blue’ edict following the trails with Class 47 D1733 and the XP64 stock in 1964. All gangwayed, locomotive-hauled coaching stock was to be painted blue and grey, but many DMUs would receive plain blue, including the ‘101s’. Initially, small yellow panels were the order of the day, rather than full yellow ends, a ruling that soon changed making the combination of blue with a yellow panel very much of a rarity. The ‘blue square’ coupling code can be seen at the extremities of the panel in this view taken at Towyn.
COLOUR RAIL
British Railways’ first generation of diesel multiple units carried liveries that varied little between each of the classes. One of the most numerous and longest-lived types was the Metro-Cammell units designated under TOPS as Class 101 (as well as the associated Class 102/111 types). We will use this class to look at some of the ‘standard’ BR liveries applied from the blue era onwards and hopefully in further editions the variations used on other types. Additionally, the BR green era of DMU liveries will be covered.