NODDING DONKEYS

摘要

Following the trials and tribulations of the LEV, R3 and Class 210 projects (dealt with in our August issue), BR decided to concentrate on twin-vehicle railbuses. The chief passenger manager stated that a survey of British Rail Regions revealed fewer than ten lines could operate single vehicle four-wheel railbuses. However, the best design features of the prototypes was incorporated into an R4 project, later the Class 141. With the funding of railways fortunes at a low ebb, there was a need for cheaper trains. BR hoped a passenger transport executive would fund a fleet of 20 Class 141s. South and West Yorkshire responded, (but the West Midlands sought a partnership with Metro-Cammell to develop an updated version of a conventional bogied DMU). The Class 141s had a chequered early career. A complete reappraisal of the entire railbus project came soon after the agreement to build a production fleet. Some senior BR staff, who considered its specification to be more of a heavyweight train than a "cheap" railbus, also favoured designing a modern DMU, so the Class 141 was looked at again but emerged far more like the R3 railbus project than the Class 140. The 141 design did retain a toilet, but the interior was far more like a bus with seating for 92, no doorstep-well and a gangway between vehicles.