Tren británico Clase 117

Las unidades múltiples diésel (DMU) British Rail Clase 117 fueron construidas por Pressed Steel entre 1959 y 1961. Era una variante fabricada bajo licencia de la British Rail Clase 116. ^{[ 5 ]}

Entre 1959 y 1961, Pressed Steel fabricó un total de 123 vagones de la Clase 117 , distribuidos en 39 unidades de tres vagones y tres pares de coches de reserva. En su introducción en 1960, estas unidades de tres vagones estaban estacionadas junto con las unidades similares de un solo vagón (automotor) de la Clase 121 en la Región Oeste de British Railways para el servicio suburbano desde London Paddington. Las unidades tenían su base principal en los depósitos de Reading y Southall , donde permanecieron durante muchos años prestando estos servicios.

Este tipo de tren se utilizó para una excursión ferroviaria desde Paddington hacia el suroeste el 31 de mayo de 1969.

In the 1980s, expiry of other DMUs facilitated moves for some units from the Western Region to Birmingham, as below, and Scotland, prior to the delivery of new units to replace them. They were given refurbishments.

The first shake up in ownership occurred in the late 1980s, when the Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Birmingham based units were transferred to Provincial Services, later Regional Railways, in the sectorisation of British Rail, while the Southall-based units transferred to Network SouthEast.

They were replaced on the lines out of Paddington when the Class 165/1 Network Turbo units came into service by 28 November 1992.

They soldiered on in the former Western Region until replaced by Class 150 and Class 153 DMUs by 21 May 1993, although the type could be found running Penzance - Looe services until 1997. An attempt was made to remove them from Cornish work using Class 142 "Skipper/Pacer" railcars, but these fixed wheelbase units proved to be a liability on the tight Cornish branchline curves, increasing rail and wheel wear, and were transferred to the North of England instead. The 117s were finally replaced with the advent of more Class 150s and Class 153s freed up from other areas.^[6]

The type was used in Scotland between Edinburgh - Perth, Cowdenbeath and Markinch using the Forth Bridge and continued to work in Scotland until 12 January 1998, where they were replaced with Class 156s^[3]. The final day of 117s running in Scotland was 27 November 1999.^[7]

In 2000, Class 150 Sprinter units replaced the Class 117 units on Silverlink, finally bringing to an end decades of service on Britain's rail network in front line service.^[1]

Due to the type's longevity, 12 units have been preserved on heritage railways.

• Golding, Brian (1995). Un registro pictórico de las unidades múltiples diésel de los ferrocarriles británicos . Stadhampton: Cheona. ISBN 9781900298001OCLC 59628291​ ​
• Haresnape, Brian (1985). British Rail Fleet Survey . Vol. 8: Diesel Multiple Units - The First Generation. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 9780711014954OCLC 810581284​ ​
• Marsden, Colin J. (1986). Reconocimiento de la potencia motriz . Vol. 3 DMU. Londres: Ian Allan. ISBN 9780711015708OCLC  16471467 .​
• Robertson, Kevin (2004). British Railway Pictorial: First Generation DMUs . Hersham: Ian Allan. ISBN 9780711029705OCLC 56454643​ ​

• Bendall, Simon; Lowery, Dave; Forsythe, Robert (noviembre de 2003). "El sonido de los suburbios". Model Rail . N.° 61. Peterborough: EMAP Apex. págs.  18–24 . ISSN  1369-5118 . OCLC  173324502 .