British Rail Class 157

British Rail Class 157 Strathclyde Sprinter
Artist's impression of Class 157
Manufacturer	Hunslet Transportation Projects Holec Ridderkerk UK [note 1]
Family name	Sprinter
Replaced	First generation DMUs (planned)
Number built	21 (intended) [3]
Formation	2 cars per unit (intended) [3]
Capacity	156 seats (intended) [3]
Operators	British Rail (intended)
Specifications
Engine type	Diesel (intended)
Transmission	Hydraulic (intended)
Braking system(s)	Air/EP (intended)
Safety system(s)	AWS, TPWS (intended)
Coupling system	BSI (intended)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Class 157 Strathclyde Sprinter was the designation applied to a range of diesel multiple unit trains of the Sprinter family which were planned for regional use in the United Kingdom. An order was placed in 1993 for 21 two-car units by Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive, and further orders were expected. ^{[4] [5]} As well as the class number, British Rail reserved carriage numbers in the 526xx and 576xx series for these units.^{[ citation needed ]}

As the privatisation of British Rail began, the intended use of the new trains in the Strathclyde area on a range of both existing and newly reopened routes was shelved, owing to the lack of funding available for the reopenings that had been specified by the local authorities. An additional issue was Hunslet's attempt to transfer its intellectual property rights over a number of its engineering designs to another company throughout 1994. ^[6]

In the end, the order for the new trains was cancelled ^[7] and due to this the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive ended up procuring a batch of Class 170 diesel multiple units instead.

Notes

1. Hunslet Transportation Projects Limited (HTPL) sold its Birmingham-based design, engineering, and project management functions –including responsibility for the Class 157 and 323 contracts –to the Dutch electrical engineering firm Holec  [ nl ] in March 1994. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. Webber, B. (1999). "Class 323 Electric Multiple Units". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 213. p. 49, Table 1 'Chronology'. doi:10.1243/0954409991531029. S2CID   109704714. Hunslet TPL (Engineering and Project Management) becomes Holec Ridderkerk (Birmingham) Limited, latterly Holec Ridderkerk UK Limited: 15 March 1994
2. Williams, Philip (23 March 1994). "Hunslet has had enough of 'misery line' battles". Birmingham Post. Midland Independent Newspapers. p. 9. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. Abbott, James (ed.). Jane's World Railways 1994–95 (36th ed.). Jane's Information Group. p. 76. ISBN   0 7106 1148 X . Retrieved 24 March 2025.
4. "The all-time guide to the UK Traction Classification System Part 3: Diesel Multiple Units" (PDF). The Railway Centre. 2 May 2006. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
5. Pettitt, Gordon; Comfort, Nicholas (2015). The Regional Railways Story . OPC. p. 169. ISBN   978 0 86093 663 3 . Retrieved 24 March 2025.
6. "STRATHCLYDE FEARS HITCH MAY JEOPARDISE LEASING". Local Government Choice. 25 February 1994. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
7. "A Brief History of the Hunslet Engine Co". Leeds Engine Builders. Retrieved 17 January 2019.