#3464

British Rail Class 117

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Pressed Steel Car Company· from 1959· class of 42 two- and three car diesel multiple units built by Pressed Steel Co.

🚆 multiple unit diesel retired

10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. 117308 at Haymarket: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
2. BR class 117 L421: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
3. 1 CLASS 117 DMU: Peter Skuce· Public domain
4. 2 CLASS 117 DMU DMBSO Vehicle: Peter Skuce· Public domain
5. 5 CLASS 117 DMU DMSO Vehicle: Peter Skuce· Public domain
6. Class 117 DMU at Reading on 06 Aug 1983: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
7. Class 117 DMU L425 at Culham in May 1978: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
8. Class 117 DMU on Toddington shed: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0
9. Class 117 DMU's L405 and L431 on Hertfordshire Railtours The Oxfordshire Trundler at Abingdon on 12 Jan 1980 (1): The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
10. Class 117 DMU's L405 and L431 on Hertfordshire Railtours The Oxfordshire Trundler at Abingdon on 12 Jan 1980 (3): The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0

Read about it on Wikipedia ↗

what is it?

The British Rail Class 117 diesel multiple units (DMUs) were built by Pressed Steel from 1959 to 1961. It was a licence-built variant of the British Rail Class 116.

who runs it

British Rail National Express ScotRail Silverlink Western Region of British Railways

base stats

speed 113 km/htop speed
power 447 kWpower output
weight 36.6 tin working order
built 42made 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.
447 kW is about 5 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
19.5 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
Served for 41 years (1959–2000).

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: 2000
status: retired
number built: 42
kind: multiple unit
traction: diesel
origin: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
builders: Pressed Steel Company
operators: British Rail, National Express ScotRail, Silverlink, Western Region of British Railways
top speed: 113 km/h
power: 447 kW
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
formation: DMBS, Driving Motor Brake Second-TCL, Trailer Composite with lavatory-DMS, Driving Motor Second
length: 19.5 m
weight: 36.6 t

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

Sources: Wikidata Q4970717, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 117 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.