Recent transfer to First Great Western three car class 150 DMU 150001 waits to depart Basingstoke with 2J36, 13:36 Basingstoke – Reading local service, 30th April 2012.
Unit History
At the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail had a large fleet of ageing Diesel Multiple Units built to various designs in the late 1950s and early 1960s and it was decided to commence their replacement with new “second generation” units, built to modern standards. In 1984 two prototype three car Class 150/0 units, numbered 150001 and 150002 where built, 150001 was fitted with Cummins engines and Voith hydraulic transmission and 150002 was fitted with Perkins (Rolls Royce) engines and Self-Changing Gears mechanical transmission, Following experience with the prototype units the Cummins/Voith configuration was chosen for further construction and fifty two car sets were ordered. Unlike a lot of prototypes 150001 has not met with an early demise and as can be seen is still in service twenty eight years later. After twenty seven years on local services initially in the East Midlands and then the West Midlands it was transferred to First Great Western at the end of 2011 for Reading – Basingstoke duties having been displaced by class 172 units in the West Midlands.
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