#3466
British Rail Class 126
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Swindon Works· from 1959· class of three or six-car diesel multiple units built by Swindon Works
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Glasgow Central Cravens split code end Class 126 and Class 107: Steven Duhig from Bowie, Maryland, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. Glasgow Central Class 126 and Class 107: Steven Duhig from Bowie, Maryland, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 126 diesel multiple unit was built by BR Swindon Works in 1959/60 to work services from Glasgow to Ayrshire and comprised 22 3-car sets and were a development of the earlier Swindon-built trainsets that had been introduced in 1955 to work the Edinburgh Waverley - Glasgow Queen St services. These vehicles formed the first Inter City service to be operated by diesel units in Great Britain. The introduction of these early diesel multiple units originated in a British Transport Commission report of 1952 that suggested the trial use of diesel railcars.
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 67 years ago, in 1959.
- 19.5 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 24 years (1959–1983).
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
- 1983
- status
- retired
- number built
- 22
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Swindon Works
- operators
- British Rail, Scottish Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 224 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- formation
- 3-car
- length
- 19.5 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970726, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 126 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.