British Rail Classes 251 and 261
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| British Rail Class 251 and 261 "Blue Pullman" |
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 Blue Pullman at Swansea in 1967 |
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| In service | 1960 - 1973 |
| Manufacturer | Metropolitan-Cammell |
| Number built | 5 sets |
| Formation | 6 or 8 cars per set |
| Capacity | 132 (6 car) 228 (8 car) |
| Operator | British Rail, Western Region and London Midland Region |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 90 mph (145 km/h) |
| Weight | 299 tons (6 car) 364 tons (8 car) |
| Engine | NBL/MAN V12 Supercharged |
The Blue Pullman was a class of luxury train used from 1960 to 1973 in the United Kingdom. As opposed to the previous Pullman Car Company locomotive hauled carriage trains, and the Brighton Belle electrical multiple units, the Blue Pullmans were the first diesel-electric multiple units designed for high speed Pullman train services incorporating several novel features. Named after their custom blue livery, the trains were conceived under the railway 1954 Modernisation Plan, to create new luxury first class diesel express trains, to compete with the motor car and the emerging domestic air travel market. Although not entirely successful in their own right, the Blue Pullmans demonstrated the possibility of high-speed fixed-formation multiple-unit Inter City train services and inspired the later development of the Inter City 125. After their withdrawal, none of the units survived into preservation.
In all, five complete blue Pullman train sets were built by Metro Cammell in Birmingham, formed from a total of 36 vehicles. Designed by the British Transport Commission’s subsidiary British Railways, they were initially operated by the luxury train operator the Pullman Car Company, that the BTC had recently acquired. Shortly after their introduction, in 1962, the PCC was fully nationalised, and operation of the Blue Pullmans was incorporated into the British Rail network. Originally given the last PCC vehicle numbers, towards the end of their operational life the trains gained the British Rail TOPS classification of Class 251 (motor cars) and Class 261 (kitchen and parlour cars), although they never carried these numbers.
Initially, the Blue Pullmans were used on the London Midland and Western Region of British Rail, from London St. Pancras and London Paddington. The trains were withdrawn from the London Midland region in 1967 following electrification of the Euston to Manchester line, and the Blue Pullmans were transferred to augment those in the Western region. The Blue Pullman was an advanced and luxurious design, befitting a Pullman train, although they did suffer some criticism, particularly over a persistent ride quality problem. Over time it became costly to maintain as such a small fleet of trains. By 1972, with the development of the first class appointments of Mark II coaching stock, the surcharge for Blue Pullman services seemed uneconomical to passengers and BR managers, and in 1973 the trains were eventually withdrawn.
The Blue Pullman train sets were featured in 3 films, one of the same name as a documentary of the design and development, and an observation of the first service. From 2006, the Blue Pullman name was revived as a charter railtour, operated by various companies.
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[edit] Background
In June 1954, the British Transport Commission (BTC), which operated the public railways through its British Railways subsidiary, also purchased the full equity of the private Pullman Car Company (PCC). The PCC had been a private operator of luxury first class trains on the otherwise nationalised passenger network.
Under the 1954 Modernisation Plan, there was a push toward diesel power to replace steam locomotives, and the PCC’s coaching stock was ageing. The BTC and PCC formed a committee to examine the possibility of running diesel express passenger trains using new trains. Initially proposed as the Midland Pullman, it was timed to compete on the London to Manchester route against the car and air travel. After being initially rejected for operational reasons, the BTC decided to make use of the reputation of the recently acquired PCC to operate the new service, and three new multiple unit Pullman 'de luxe' trains were proposed, one for the London Midland Region, and two for the Western Region. A formal announcement from the BTC confirmed in 1957 that Metro Cammell would produce five sets for operation from 1958.
[edit] Pullman service
To emphasise the new type of service, the traditional PCC livery of brown and cream was replaced with a blue livery, and associated brand image, and coaches would be named simply Pullman, rather than given individual names. Seating would also be different to traditional Pullman coaches, increasing from 1+1 to 1+2.
As such, the sets originally wore a Nanking blue livery, with white window surrounds, and the PCC crest on the front and sides. In 1967 the standard yellow safety front end was applied. In the early 1970s the sets were repainted into a corporate British Rail blue and grey scheme, similar to the prototype Class 252.
[edit] Problems
The selection of PCC caused some initial delays due to trade union staffing problems, due to variances in the pay and conditions of Pullman staff compared to BTC train staff, and the wrongly held belief that PCC was still a private company.
After some production delays, the first set appeared for trials in October 1959. These early trials discovered rough ride quality was a problem, and modifications were made. These mitigated the problem, but it was never entirely removed. The reduction in wheel size from the trouble-free European design was later thought to be a possible cause. It was also noticed that the problem was worse on the 'rougher riding' London Midland Region lines, compared to the Western Region lines.
The new service attracted criticism for the fact it required a full spare set for the Midland and Western services, making poor use of expensive assets. Critics also claimed that the new services in reality offered little speed advantage over conventional steam services, and were not timed for priority business use.
Other commentators however did praise the speed and smoothness of the journey, despite the ride problems, and the luxury of the trains. Trains were later re-timed to better suit business travellers.
With completion in 1966 of the electrification of the East Coast line from London Euston to Manchester, creating the opportunity for a faster electric locomotive hauled Pullman service than the diesel sets, the London Midland Region Blue Pullman sets were transferred to the Western Region in March 1967. The introduction of newly built Mk1 (non-air conditioned) Pullman carriages on the East Coast Main Line in 1961 had been questioned as it was believed the Eastern Region had not waited for the completion of evaluation of the Blue Pullman units. The later introduction of 2nd class air-conditioned Mk2 coaches on these services hastened the perception that the Pullman surcharge was not value for money.
[edit] Design
The blue Pullman trains were designed for a maximum speed of 90mph. The fixed coupling of the dmu design reduced much of the jerky movement experienced by conventionally buffered carriage travel and allowed smooth acceleration and stable running. The bogies featured hydraulically damped helical springs, and the axles were pneumatically braked in a two stage system, allowing highly controlled stopping.
The entire train set was air-conditioned with automatic humidity control. Motor cars contained a large primary diesel engine and generator for motive power. A secondary petrol engine and auxiliary generator provided electrical power for the air-conditioning, fridges and ancillary equipment. A single auxiliary was sufficient to power the train systems normally. An onboard technician monitored the supply of services.
The passenger areas were universally formed in armchair type table seating, in a 2+1 formation, each with a table lamp and steward call button. The cabins were protected from track noise by extra insulation in the bodywork and double glazed windows with Venetian blinds contained within the panes.
[edit] Technical details
Power car (one at each end of set):
- Introduced: 1960
- Weight: 67 tons 10 cwt
- Engine: NBL/MAN 1,000 bhp
- Motors: two 199 hp GEC traction motors (plus two on the adjoining car)
- Maximum tractive effort: Not known
- Driving wheel diameter: Not known
- Coupling code: Not known
- Train heating: Electric, powered by 190 bhp Rolls-Royce underfloor engine on adjoining vehicle
[edit] Formation
The Blue Pullman train sets were formed from three basic types of car, a motor car, kitchen car and parlour car. In service the cars were permanently coupled and hermetically sealed for maintenance of the air conditioning settings. For maintenance, the sets were formed from symmetrical pairs, with a motor car at each end, and 2 kitchen cars serving their respective halves of the train. In an emergency, the buffers on the front of the sets were used in conjunction with a normally concealed coupling hook.
Train sets were originally formed in 6 or 8 car lengths. The Midland region operated two sets of 6 first class seated cars, with the Western operating 3 sets of 8 cars with first and second class seating. Withdrawal of the Midland services also allowed operation of 12 car formations. The seating in the full length of the parlour cars was augmented by seated sections in the motor and kitchen cars, and motor cars also featured a car compartment. Every kitchen car had one toilet and each parlour car had two.
Formations were made up as follows:
Midland Pullman:
DMBF MFK TF TF MFK DMBF 60090 + 60730 + 60740 + 60741 + 60731 + 60091 60092 + 60732 + 60742 + 60743 + 60733 + 60093
Western Pullman:
DMBS MS TFK TF TF TFK MS DMBS 60094 + 60644 + 60734 + 60744 + 60745 + 60735 + 60645 + 60095 60096 + 60646 + 60736 + 60746 + 60747 + 60737 + 60647 + 60097 60098 + 60648 + 60738 + 60748 + 60749 + 60739 + 60649 + 60099
[edit] Services
The blue pullmans operated Monday to Friday pullman services, and commenced on 23 July 1960 with the London Midland Region, with the Western Region starting later. Weekends was reserved for maintenance, and also allowed their occasional use on special or charter services to events such as the Grand National.
London Midland Region operated the ‘Midland Pullman’ from 1960 to 1967 from Manchester to St. Pancras in the morning, a fill in journey out and back to Leicester, and an evening return to Manchester. Briefly in 1962 the fill in reached Nottingham, but was not well used and withdrawn.
The Western region initially operated:
- The ‘Birmingham Pullman’, Wolverhampton Low Level to London Paddington, via Birmingham Snow Hill in the morning, a fill in journey out and back to Birmingham New Street, and an evening return to Wolverhampton via Birmingham.
- The ‘Bristol Pullman’, Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington and back, twice in a day.
The two morning services were both booked to arrive at the same time at Paddington in the morning, giving the possibility of a side by side arrival.
From 1961, an additional morning train, the ‘South Wales Pullman’ operated from Paddington to Cardiff and then Swansea.
The withdrawal of the London Midland services allowed the surplus sets to be placed onto a new non-stop service for Oxford, and on additional out and back services on the Bristol and Swansea routes. The Birmingham services were also eventually withdrawn, with the last services being to South Wales.
[edit] Withdrawal
Towards the end of their operational life, the blue pullmans were operated as 3 makeshift sets formed from various original cars, to maintain a working service. With the imminent introduction of the InterCity 125 sets, and declining reliability, the last sets were withdrawn en masse in May 1973. A farewell Commemorative special journey, out and back from Paddington, was operated by the Western Region, traveling for 12 hours via High Wycombe, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Coventry, Birmingham New St. Next, Cheltenham, Bristol Temple Meads, the Severn Tunnel, Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol Parkway, Didcot and Slough.
Ten Blue Pullman carriages had been reportedly saved from the scrapyard in July 1975 for preservation, however, none have been preserved, and all blue pullman units are thought scrapped. A seat unit is preserved on the Bluebell Railway.
Some of the blue pullman motor cars were retained at Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Road until mid-1974 as standby electricity generators, during industrial action from the electricity and coal mining industries.
[edit] In Film
The units starred in the 1960 British Transport Film Blue Pullman directed by James Ritchie, which followed its development, preparation and a journey on the train. As with earlier British Transport films, many of the personnel, scientists, engineers, crew and passengers were featured. It won several awards, including the Technical & Industrial Information section of the Festival for Films for Television in 1961. The film is also particularly notable for its score, by Clifton Parker.
The units were also the subject of another British Transport Film, "Lets Go To Birmingham", made in 1962. This was of a run from London Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill via Leamington Spa and was largely a speeded up "cab view" film in the style of "London to Brighton in Four Minutes". Unfortunately the driver in the film was killed in a crash at Knowle and Dorridge some months after filming.
The units made brief appearance in the 1965 Norman Wisdom film The Early Bird.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Blue Pullman, Kevin Robertson, Kestrel Railway Books 2005
- Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1966 edition
[edit] External links
- Detailed history of the Blue Pullman
- Information on the Midlan Pullman
- Blue Pullman on the BTF site
- Blue Pullman at the IMDB
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