#3468

British Rail Class 128

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company· from 1959· class of 10 diesel parcels railcars built by GRCW

🚆 multiple unit diesel retired

5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. M55989: Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
2. M55994 and M50324, M50328 Birmingham (Snow Hill) station(8263901557): Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
3. M55989 front: Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
4. Class 52 D1009 and a Class 128 DMU at Reading in 1975: Terry Fougler· CC BY-SA 2.0
5. Gloucester RC&W parcels van (13516164295): pdc666· CC BY 2.0

Read about it on Wikipedia ↗

what is it?

The British Rail Class 128 was a class of diesel multiple unit, built for British Rail. Introduced in 1959, ten of the class were built by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, each with two 230 hp British United Traction - Albion engines. The class was built specifically for parcels, fitted out with parcel racks and bike storage at each end, and did not feature any passenger accommodation.

who runs it

British Rail Western Region of British Railways London Midland Region of British Railways

base stats

speed 113 km/htop speed
power 343 kWpower output
weight 41.5 tin working order
built 10made in total

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 67 years ago, in 1959.
343 kW is about 4 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
19.5 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
Served for 32 years (1959–1991).

multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.

spec sheet

built: 1959
in service from: 1959
retired: 1991
status: retired
number built: 10
kind: multiple unit
traction: diesel
origin: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
builders: Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
operators: British Rail, Western Region of British Railways, London Midland Region of British Railways
top speed: 113 km/h
power: 343 kW
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'
formation: Single car:, DMPMV, Driving Motor Parcels and Miscellaneous Van
length: 19.5 m
weight: 41.5 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q4970728, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 128 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.