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The Class 116 DMUs were 3-car units built for the Western region of British Rail in 1957/58 at BR's Derby Carriage Works.
The vehicles were similar in design to the later Class 117, with the longer 64ft bodies and doors provided at each seating bay. No toilets were provided, and as built there were no gangways between vehicles in the units.


From the mid 1960s, surplus units were transferred to the Eastern and Scottish Regions. The first three Class 116 units were transferred to Scotland in October 1966, initially on-loan to Hamilton depot, with the allocation made permanent in November, and by December 1966 eight sets were based at Hamilton.

A ninth unit arrived in May 1969, and in July 1972 five more brought the Hamilton allocation up to fourteen 3-car sets.

Planned Set Formations, 1973 (Hamilton Depot)

Set No.	DMBS	TS	DMS	Remarks
150	Sc50818	Sc59326	Sc50871	To Tyseley 1978
151	Sc50820	Sc59328	Sc50873	TS to Tyseley 1978
152	Sc50821	Sc59329	Sc50874	DMBS to Tyseley 1978 (DMS W)
153	Sc50822	Sc59330	Sc50875	DMS to Tyseley 1978
154	Sc50823	Sc59331	Sc50876
155	Sc50825	Sc59333	Sc50878	TS, DMS to Tyseley 1978
156	Sc50826	Sc59345	Sc50879	DMBS to Tyseley 1978
157	Sc50829	Sc59337	Sc50882
158	Sc50836	Sc59344	Sc50889	Gangway fitted.
159	Sc50839	Sc59347	Sc50892	Gangway fitted.
160	Sc50844	Sc59335	Sc50897	Gangway fitted. To Stratford 1977
161	Sc50845	Sc59353	Sc50898	Gangway fitted. To Stratford 1977
162	Sc50852	Sc59360	Sc50905	To Tyseley 1978
163	Sc50867	Sc59375	Sc50920	Gangway fitted. To Stratford 1977

Some of the early arrivals were still in green livery when they came north, but were soon painted in plain BR Blue livery with full yellow ends.

The class 116 units worked out of Glasgow Central to East Kilbride, Barrhead, Kilmarnock, Kilmacolm, sometimes reaching Largs and Edinburgh via Shotts. Prior to electrification in 1974, they also worked the Hamilton Circle and Lanark services.

Set 152 was involved in a fatal accident at Pollokshield East on 11 June 1974, when it was in collision with Class 311 EMU no 108. The cab end of SC50874 was severely damaged, and was never repaired, with the vehicle officially withdrawn 16/2/76. For a while its place in set 152 was taken by Class 122 car Sc55002.

The sets which came north from the Western in 1972 were gangway fitted, and in 1977 three of these were exchanged with three non-gangwayed Eastern region sets from Stratford.

Four sets were transferred to Tyseley in the Spring of 1978, but two others made the opposite move in November 1978, one of which was gangway fitted and spent its first 6 months based at Eastfield.


In the late 1970s the cab fronts were tidied up by removal of the 2-character headcode panels. The sets were progressively repainted into blue & grey livery, and had "Trans-Clyde" branding added to the left hand sides of the driving cars.

In 1981 The Scottish region introduced a new series of set numbers.

Planned Set Formations, 1981 (Hamilton Depot)

(1973 set)	(1978 set)	1981 Set No.	DMBS	TS	DMS	Remarks
M	??	116 385	Sc50090	Sc59344	Sc50132	Gangway fitted.
151	160	116 386	Sc50820	Sc59027	Sc52012	Class 107 DMS. Disbanded 3/82
153	161	116 387	Sc50822	Sc59330	Sc50881
154	162	116 388	Sc50823	Sc59354	Sc50876
155	163	116 389	Sc50825	Sc59329	Sc50873
157	164	116 390	Sc50829	Sc59337	Sc50879	Withdrawn 11/85
158	165	116 391	Sc50836	Sc59347	Sc50889	Gangway fitted. Withdrawn 10/83
159	166	116 392	Sc50839	Sc59374	Sc50892	Gangway fitted.
E	167	116 393	Sc50841	Sc59331	Sc50877	Withdrawn 9/86 (DMS Su 11/82)
E	168	116 394	Sc50846	Sc59345	Sc50882
E	169	116 395	Sc50853	Sc59367	Sc50894	To Stratford 11/81
M	??	116 396	Sc50859	Sc59349	Sc50899	Withdrawn 3/86

Set 116395 was returned to Stratford in November 1981. Hybrid set 116386 was disbanded with DMBS 50820 sent to the Western Region in March 1982.

With the closure of Hamilton Depot, the class 116 fleet was reallocated to Eastfield in August 1982. In theory the units were out-based at Corkerhill, continuing to work services out of Glasgow Central.

DMS 50877 from set 393 was unservicable by November 1982 and withdrawn in January 1983, meaning hybrid sets were again inevitable, with Class 101 vehicles used as substitutes.

During 1983, the Power cars were renumbered from 50xxx to 53xxx.

Set 116391 was being returned from a Works visit, conveyed on the rear of a parcels train from London, when it derailed and caught fire at Portobello on the East Coast Main Line in early hours of Weds August 3rd 1983. As the vehicles were asbestos contaminated the unit was withdrawn in October 1983 and eventually disposed of by burial in Paterson’s Tip, Mount Vernon in July 1984.

In December 1984 the whole fleet, now down to nine sets, was again reallocated, this time Ayr Depot. DMU availability problems at that depot meant class 116s were frequently used on longer distance services from Glasgow Central to Ayr, Ardrossan and Largs.

The fleet shrank further with the withdrawal of 116390 in November 1985 and 116396 in March 1986.

Four sets, 387/8/9/92, were reallocated to Eastfield in February 1986, but three had returned to Ayr by May, leaving only 116388 based at Eastfield and it often worked services out of Glasgow Queen Street.

In the Summer of 1986 Ayr depot had to contend with the entire fleet of Class 107 units being taken out of service. Class 116 vehicles 53825/882/892 were also stored out of use from May.

One of the units sent north to Ayr to help out was a Class 116 set from Stratford (vehicles E53845 + E59375 + E53898) which had been based at Hamilton in the Mid 1970s. This was designated 116397 although it may not have carried the set number.

Completion of the Ayrshire electrification and restoration of the Class 107s allowed the Scottish Region to reorganise the DMU fleet and the six remaining Class 116s sets based at Ayr (including stored vehicles) were transfered to Tyseley in February 1987.

The last Class 116 unit operating in Scotland was Eastfield's 116388, and this set went to Tyseley in March 1987.

See Also

External Links

• The Railcar Association
• The Railcar Association - Class 116 History
• The Railcar Association - Class 116 History (Old site on Web Archive).
• Preserved Class 116 units
• Wikipedia - BR Class 116

Photos

• 50852 (set 162) at Motherwell June 1974.
• Class 116 with route indicator, Bridge of Weir, c.1975
• All Blue DMBS with GG symbol, Saltcoats, c.1979
• 50090 (blue) with 101 TSL. Haymarket March 1979
• Blue 50859 (Set 168), at Glasgow Central c.1980
• 116395 at Doncaster Works, January 1982
• 53132 in a 116/107/120 hybrid at Newton, July 1986
• Centre car 59354 at Larbert, July 1986
• 53845 at Glasgow Central, July 1986
• 53873 in set 394 at Glasgow Central, July 1986
• 116 385 at Springburn, January 1983
• Part of 116391, Withdrawn at Portobello, 1984
• 116387, near Troon, Nov 1982
• 116387 (53881) at East Kilbride, July 1985
• 116387 (53822) at Edinburgh, April 1986
• 53876 newly arrived at Tyseley, March 1987
• 116392 at Largs, February 1985
• Met-Cam 53746 in 116394, Ayr, May 1985
• 116394 at Glasgow Central, June 1985
• 116394 at Corkerhill (with Class 107 DMS)
• 116396 and 107425 at Ayr, early 80s
• 116396, Withdrawn, at Glasgow Works, 1987
• 53090 of set 385 on a railtour, August 1986
• 50874 withdrawn with collision damage. 1978