#3334
British Rail Class 109
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by D. Wickham and Company· from 1957· class of 5 two-car diesel multiple units
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Class 109 Pentra Depot 001: Headshot119· Public domain
what is it?
The British Rail Class 109 is a class of 2-car diesel multiple units built in 1957 by D Wickham & Co. Five two-car units were built featuring an unusual body design. The design, first used in 1936 for South American railways, aimed to minimise weight.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 69 years ago, in 1957.
- Weighs about as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 17.4 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 14 years (1957–1971).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1957
- in service from
- 1957
- retired
- 1971
- status
- retired
- number built
- 5
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- D. Wickham and Company
- operators
- British Rail, Eastern Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 112 kW
- wheel arrangement
- 1A′A1′+2′2′
- formation
- 2-car sets: DMBS, Driving Motor Brake Second-DTCL, Driving Trailer Composite with lavatory
- length
- 17.4 m
- weight
- 27.4 t
- capacity
- 75 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970708, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 109 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.