British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple-unit passenger trains used in England and Wales. 96 units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Derby Litchurch Lane Works between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141, which were introduced in 1984. The first batch was delivered in 1985, with the remaining units being delivered between 1986 and 1987.
Description
The unit's body is based on that of the original Leyland National bus; many fixtures and fittings of the bus can be found on the units. Each unit has a seating capacity of any number between 102 and 121 passengers per two-car set. In theory there should be 106 or 121 seats per unit. However, many units have had seats removed to provide additional space for wheelchair access. The same engines and mechanical transmissions were used as on Class 141, as also the same double-folding external doors. Each car has a fuel capacity of 125 gallons.Rail squeal
Excessive flange squeal on tight curves has been a problem on many routes operated by 142s, caused by the long wheelbase and lack of bogies. The rough ride which can result has led to the units being nicknamed Nodding Donkey.The 142s that were allocated to Cornwall in the mid-1980s were officially known as "Skippers". They were transferred to the north when the Cornish branch lines proved unsuitable for the Class 142; the tight bends caused excessive screeching and caused the wheels to become damaged. All Skippers left the West Country in the late 1980s.
Upgrades and refurbishments
The class was mechanically upgraded starting in the early 1990s, as the original parts were already starting to fail by then. All units carry a more powerful Cummins L10 series engine – 230 bhp per car, which equals 460 bhp per twin-car unit – and Voith T211r two-stage hydraulic transmission, starting with a torque converter which switches to fluid coupling drive once the unit is up to. All units were fitted with new Voith transmission by late 1991 and Cummins engines were fitted between 1993 and 1996 to improve reliability. This has proven successful, although incidents have occurred, such as when a Northern Rail unit derailed en route from Blackpool to Liverpool in June 2009, due to a cardan shaft failure. During the period of conversion, the fleet were renumbered into either the 142 2xx series or the 142 5xx series, before reverting to their original numbers. The original bi-folding doors fitted on the Class 142 were replaced in the 1990s due to reliability issues.Operations
British Rail Provincial/Regional Railways
From new, some units were painted according to the region they operated in. For example, the first 14 Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive sponsored units received GMPTE orange and brown, then the next 13 West Country based units were painted in a Great Western Railway inspired chocolate and cream livery and marketed as 'Skippers'.Post privatisation
Northern England
Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the Class 142 Fleet was divided between North Western Trains in the North West and Northern Spirit in the North East.Northern Spirit started its operations in 1997 and continued until 2000. At this point, parent company MTL ran into difficulties and the company was sold to Arriva, who renamed it as Arriva Trains Northern.
In 1998 ATN swapped seven Class 142s for seven Class 150/2 units from Valley Lines. In October–December 2002 these were swapped for unrefurbished units 142072-77 and 080–3, as 142086-091 had only recently been refurbished by Northern Spirit and Valley Lines wished to start their refurbishment from scratch.
In 2004 First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern was merged into the Northern rail franchise, which inherited a combined fleet of 79 Class 142s.
All 79 Class 142s are now painted in Northern Rail livery. Due to rising passenger numbers in the north of England, some units have been replaced by Sprinter trains.
Five Class 142 Pacers, in service with First Great Western, were returned to Northern Rail in December 2008; the rest returned to Northern Rail by November 2011, much later than originally planned.
Despite being built for branch-line stopping services, the Class 142s are mainly used on urban commuter services in and out of cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle and can be seen on longer-distance services of up to three hours including the 1632 Middlesbrough-Carlisle service ; they had also been used on services between Blackpool North and Chester via Stockport, which ceased to operate in December 2008. All 79 passed with the Northern franchise to Arriva Rail North in April 2016, and any remaining units transferred to the government-owned operator Northern Trains on 1 March 2020.
In June 2020, it was announced that 13 Class 142s would be allowed to re-enter service if necessary, the units being 142004, 018, 023, 058, 065, 068, 070, 071, 078, 087, 090, 094 and 095, which they did on the 6th July 2020 following the introduction of a new timetable, due to a need for extra capacity for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled to Class 150s so as to avoid being non-PRM modified.
Merseyside
A total of seventeen Class 142 units based at Newton Heath TMD were refurbished for use on Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive's City Line on services around the Liverpool and Greater Manchester areas. The refurbishment included dot-matrix route indicators, a new design of individual low-backed seating and the units were repainted into Merseyrail's livery. Upon privatisation, these units passed to First North Western in March 1997. All of these sets transferred to Northern in 2016, however remained in the livery of previous operator Northern Rail.Wales
acquired its Class 142s by swapping Class 150/2 units with Arriva Trains Northern. The Class 142s were initially painted in Valley Lines livery.Transport for Wales uses its Class 142 Pacer trains on the commuter lines around Cardiff, Barry and Penarth known as the Valley lines. All of its Class 142 Pacer fleet now bear the turquoise and cream house colours of Arriva Trains Wales.
The Class 142s are frequently used for the Cardiff to Penarth service calling at Grangetown, Dingle Road, and Penarth.
The Class 142 units are also primarily used on South Wales Valley line routes and routes through the Vale of Glamorgan. On Valley and Vale of Glamorgan services, Class 142s are often coupled together with Class 143 or Class 150 units to cope with demand on the busy Valley Lines network. The Class 142s have received minor refurbishments with retrimmed seats in new moquette, plus the installation of ceiling-mounted CCTV cameras.
South West England
Twelve Class 142 Pacers were received by First Great Western in 2007, and started operations in December 2007. These were loaned from Northern, in part to cover for the refurbishment of FGW's Sprinter fleets but also to allow the Class 158s to be reformed as three-coach sets.The 142s were based at Exeter TMD, working alongside the similar on services in Devon and Cornwall, including the Avocet Line, Riviera Line and Tarka Line.
Five 142s were returned to Northern Rail in the autumn of 2008, following the completion of the refresh of Class 150 Sprinter units. The remaining seven units were returned to Northern Rail in November 2011 after being replaced by class 150 units cascaded from London Overground and London Midland.
Withdrawal
All 94 Class 142s will be withdrawn by mid-2020, as they do not comply with the Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability.Bidders for the Northern franchise that commenced in April 2016 were required to order new DMUs and take on Sprinters and Turbostars released by other franchises as replacement. The Long Term Passenger Rolling Stock Strategy for the Rail Industry indicates up to 500 non-electric carriages will need to be built in the short term. Northern withdrawals were scheduled to commence in November 2018 with the last to be removed from traffic in October 2019. This has been slightly delayed until the first Class 195s enter service.
Wales & Borders franchise holder KeolisAmey Wales will replace all of its Class 142s by mid-2020.
In August 2019, Northern retired seven and placed them in store at Heaton TMD. Scrapping commenced in December 2019 with 142005 taken to CF Booth, Rotherham. In December 2019, three withdrawn Northern units were transferred to Transport for Wales for spare parts.
In December 2019, both Northern and Transport for Wales were issued derogations to allow use into 2020. Northern Trains are permitted to the use the units until the 31 May 2020, but only whilst coupled to a compliant unit, whilst Transport for Wales are permitted to use the units until 31 July 2020 and can be operated alone.
Preservation
Seventeen class 142 units have so far been saved/earmarked for preservation. The majority all being ex-Northern operated units. Unit no 142001 is part of the National Collection and preserved at the National Railway Museum Shildon. Additionally, three further units are to be preserved. Unit 142003 is to be purchased by a private individual, two further units 142023 and 142036 are to also be preserved following withdrawal from service in May 2020. 142023 will be based at the Plym Valley Railway and 142036 at the East Kent Railway.A further few units are also preserved on the Chasewater Railway, the Wensleydale Railway and Whitrope Heritage Centre each.
Operational
142027 was purchased as a spares donor for the Chasewater Railway's two operational Class 142 units.Non-railway use
Alongside the operational preserved class 142s, one has already been acquired by South Wales Police.Liveries
Fleet details
| Class | Operator | Numbers | Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
| Class 142 | Transport for Wales | 15 | 1985–87 | 2 | 142002, 142006, 142010, 142069, 142072-077, 142080-083, 142085 |
| Class 142 | Northern Trains | 7 | 1985–87 | 2 | 142004, 142058, 142065, 142068, 142071, 142087, 142090 |
| Class 142 | Stored | 25 | 1985–87 | 2 | NT: 142003, 142007, 142011, 142013-014, 142018, 142023, 142032, 142035, 142041, 142043, 142045, 142047, 142051, 142056, 142061, 142070, 142078, 142089, 142094-095 TFW: 142012, 142079, 142086 |
| Class 142 | Scrapped | 35 | 1985–87 | 2 | 142005, 142008-009, 142015-016, 142021-022, 142024-026, 142031, 142034, 142037, 142039-040, 142042, 142044, 142046, 142048-050, 142052-054, 142057, 142059, 142062-064, 142066-067, 142088, 142092-093, 142096 |
| Class 142 | Preserved | 15 | 1985–87 | 2 | 142001, 142017, 142019-020, 142027, 142028-030, 142033, 142036, 142038, 142055, 142060, 142084, 142091 |
Named units
Select units have previously carried names.- 142009 - Newton Heath 125 1876-2001
- 142073 - Myfanwy
- 142080 - Caerphilly RFC
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Numbers | Notes |
| 1991 | 96 | 1 | 142059 | |
| 2000 | 95 | 1 | 142008 | |
| 2019 | 94 | 44 | 142001/03/05/07/09/12/15-17/19-22/25-27/29-31/33-34/37-39/42/44/46/48-50/52-53/57/60/64/66/79/84/86/88/91-93/96 | 142001, 003, 017, 019, 020, 029, 030, 033, 038, 060, 084 & 091 preserved |
| 2020 | 60 | 29 | 142002/04/06/10-11/13-14/18/23-24/28/32/35-36/40-41/43/45/47/51/54-56/58/61-63/65/67-78/80-83/85/87/89-90/94-95 | 142001, 011, 013, 017, 019, 020, 027-030, 033-041, 055-056, 060, 084 & 091 preserved. 142005, 009, 015, 016, 021, 022, 024-026, 031, 034, 039, 040, 042, 044-046, 048-054, 057, 062-064, 067, 068, 088 & 092 have been scrapped. |
Accidents
- Two Class 142 units have been withdrawn through accident damage. The first of which was unit 142059, which was withdrawn in 1991 after colliding with a buffer stop at Liverpool Lime Street. The train had run away down the hill from Edge Hill whilst returning with brake problems. The train was running without passengers at the time and the driver and guard both survived the accident without serious lasting injury. The platforms were evacuated in time before the train struck the buffers.
- The most serious accident involving a Class 142 was at Winsford in 1999. The driver of Class 142 No. 142008 operated by First North Western, running empty from to overran a red signal on the slow line and stopped in the path of the 06:15 to Virgin Trains express, hauled by a Class 87 electric locomotive, No. 87027 Wolf of Badenoch. The impact, which caused the unit to be written off, severed the Pacer's body from its frames and caused severe internal damage. This raised concerns over the crashworthiness of the design.
- On 11 June 2009, a Class 142 operated by Northern Rail derailed while en route from Blackpool to Liverpool. All but one of the 40 passengers on board escaped injury. An initial investigation was carried out by the UK Rail Accident Investigation Branch which determined that the engine mounted under the rear coach became detached and fell onto the track at a recorded speed of 57 mph, derailing the rear axle. The detachment of the engine caused extensive damage to underfloor equipment, severing control wires and damaging the braking system resulting in an automatic emergency brake application. The engine became detached following the failure of its attachment to the flywheel housing. Two of the three engine mounting points are on the flywheel housing which remained attached to the vehicle. Engine parts were recovered and taken to the engine overhauler's workshops for supervised examination and dismantling. The bearings and other internal engine parts were found to be in order with no signs of overheating or seizure. The engine crankshaft had broken between the big end bearing of the sixth cylinder and the main bearing in the engine casing at the flywheel end. This break exhibited marks characteristic of a fatigue failure. The torque load on the crankshaft of an engine on full power is at its maximum between the last cylinder and the flywheel, the location of the fracture. A piece of the main bearing and its fixing bolt were the first items found in the debris trail towards the derailed train at 453m back from where the train stopped. The engine block was 205m back from the stopped train. The track was damaged over a distance of 330m. The engine had been overhauled and was fitted to 142042 in March 2008. The crankshaft had been used in two other engines before being fitted to this engine. It had been reground and subjected to magnetic particle inspection to check for flaws before it was fitted to this engine. The unit had covered 114,577 miles since returning to service. The rebuilt engines were given an interval of 400,000 miles between overhauls. Subsequently, newer more sensitive MPI equipment was introduced by the engine overhaulers. Problems with engines on 142s have been experienced before.
- On 8 August 2009, Arriva Trains Wales unit 142069 derailed during an empty stock movement at Rhymney, South Wales. The unit was preparing to work a morning service with 143625 when it derailed on a set of points and hit the platform edge. 142069 was later removed by road to Cardiff Canton depot and fears were raised that the frame might have been damaged beyond repair. These fears proved unfounded and the unit has since returned to service.
- On 3 October 2009, a unit of the class collided with another train at.
- On 4 January 2010, unit 142029 collided with a train comprising two Class 159 diesel multiple units at. Nine people were injured.
- On 10 April 2011, a cardan shaft failure on 142045 led to an incident at, injuring a member of the public with a piece of ballast kicked up by the detached shaft.
- On 27 April 2012, unit 142091 was working the 1125 Lincoln – Adwick service when it hit a landslide after exiting Clarborough Tunnel near causing major frontal damage to the unit. Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, one of these being the driver. The landslide was blamed on heavy rain and poor drainage. The unit has since returned to service.
- On 4 October 2016, unit 142072 caught fire at.
- On 9 October 2018, unit 142086 derailed at Sheffield station.
Models
In 1987, Hornby Railways launched its first version of the BR Class 142 railbus in OO gauge.In 2020, Realtrack Models announced that it intended to produce a model of the class 142 in several liveries.