Railbus 4-wheel Wickham Profile and Models
999507 at Isfield on the Lavender Line in August 2009. ©Foulger Railway Photography
In the late 1950s, British Rail tested a series of small railbuses, produced by a variety of manufacturers, for about £12,500 each (£261,000 at 2014 prices). These proved to be very economical but were somewhat unreliable. Most of the lines they worked on were closed following the Beeching Cuts and, being non-standard, they were all withdrawn in the mid-1960s. Wickham produced 5 passenger-carrying Railbuses as well as one departmental unit. The body was rubber mounted on the underframe, which not only provided vertical sprung movement but also allowed limited and controlled transverse movement between underframe and body. They could be seen on the Scottish Region of BR but were all withdrawn by 1966. |
|
Type of Unit |
Diesel-Mechanical Railbus |
Builder |
Wickham |
Build Dates |
1958 |
Total Built |
6 |
Coaches Per Unit |
Single Car |
Power Output |
105 hp |
Top Speed |
50 mph |
Passenger Capacity |
48 seats |
Operated By |
British Rail |
Main Duties |
Local Passenger |
In Service Until |
1966 |
Surviving Examples |
1 |