British Rail Class 204

British Rail Class 204
British Rail Class 204
	204004 at Eastleigh in 1986
In service	1957–1987
Replaced	Steam locomotives and carriages
Scrapped	1987
Number built	8 units (3 rebuilt from Class 205)
Number preserved	1 driving trailer
Number scrapped	7 complete units
Fleet numbers	1401-1404; 204001-004
Operators	British Railways
Lines served	Southern Region
Specifications
Prime mover(s)	English Electric 4SRKT Mark II
Power output	600 shp (450 kW) at 850 rpm
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Last updated January 27, 2026

The British Rail Class 204 designation has been used twice for two similar types of diesel-electric multiple units.

History

The original units, numbered in the range 1119-1122, were two-car versions of the Class 205 '3H' units, and were classified as 2H under the old system.

In 1979, BR decided to augment the two-car units to three-car formation. Three of the four units were reformed with the addition of centre trailers taken from 3H (Class 205) units, and thus were themselves reclassified as Class 205.

The fourth 2H unit, and the three former 3H units which had given up their trailers, were augmented by reusing the ex-2EPB driving trailers from redundant Class 206 units. The Class 204 designation was re-applied to these four newly formed units (which were also given the classification 3T under the old system). They were renumbered into the range 1401-1404. In 1986, the units were renumbered to 204001-004 to conform with the TOPS numbering system.

Technical details

Power car (one per set)

Introduced: 1957
Weight: 56 long tons (57 t; 63 short tons)
Engine: English Electric 4-cylinder type 4SRKT Mark II of 600 bhp (450 kW) at 850 rpm
Transmission: Diesel-electric, two English Electric type EE507 traction motors rated at 186 kW (249 hp) (250 hp or 190 kW) each.
Maximum tractive effort: 12,500 lbf (56,000 N)
Driving wheel diameter: 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Coupling code: Standard 'Buckeye' compatible with contemporary class 20x and 4xx units.
Train heating: Electric

Fleet details

Key:	Reclassified	Reformed	Scrapped

Original Class 204 (2H) Units

Unit Number	DMBSO	DTCsoL	Disbanded^[1]	Status
1119	60118	60818	3/1980	Reclassified as 3H (unit 1119) with addition of TSO 60653
1120	60119	60819	3/1980	Reclassified as 3H (unit 1120) with addition of TSO 60652
1121	60120	60820	5/1974	Reclassified as 3H (unit 1108) with addition of TSO 60657
1122	60121	60821	2/1980	Converted to 3T unit 1402 with addition of DTSso 77508

Reformed Class 204 (3T) Units

Unit Number			DMBSO	DTSso	DTCsoL	Withdrawn^[1]	Status
New	Old	Original	DMBSO	DTSso	DTCsoL	Withdrawn^[1]	Status
204001	1401	1108 *	60107	77500	60807	8/1987	Scrapped
204002	1402	1122	60121	77508	60821	11/1987	Scrapped
204003	1403	1103 *	60102	77507	60802	9/1987	Scrapped
204004	1404	1104 *	60103	77503	60803	8/1987	Scrapped

* ex-Class 205

Preservation

Of the original 2H units, a single driving trailer has been preserved.

205008 (ex-1121) - DTCsoL 60820 - Hastings Diesels, currently at the Lavender Line.

None of the reformed 3T units are preserved.

References

1 2 Longworth, Hugh (2011). British Railways First Generation DMUs. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-86093-612-1.^{[ page needed ]}

External links

Hastings Diesels

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[Longworth-1] 1 2 Longworth, Hugh (2011). British Railways First Generation DMUs. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-86093-612-1.^{[ page needed ]}

[1]

v t e Diesel multiple units of Great Britain
Pre-TOPS classification	Derby Lightweight Metro-Cammell Lightweight Pacerailer Railbus BUT–ACV railcars GWR railcars LMS railcars
British Rail first generation	100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127
Southern Region diesel-electric	201 202 203 204 205 206 207
British Rail second generation	141 142 143 144 150 153 155 156 158 159 165 166
Privatisation era	139 168 170 171 172 175 180 185 195 196 197 220 221 222 230 231 755 † 756 † 769 † 800 † 802 † 805 † 810 †
Prototype and non-passenger use	128 129 130 131 140 151 154 210 252 614 ‡ 768 † 799 ‡ 950 999 MPV
Proposed, unbuilt and reclassified	152 157 253 254 255 600 ‡ 780 † 897 †
Design families	Alstom Coradia 1000 Bombardier Turbostar Bombardier Voyager BR Mark 3-derived BR Networker BR Pacer BR Sprinter CAF Civity Hitachi A-train Siemens Desiro UK Stadler FLIRT Vivarail D-Train Windhoff CargoSprinter
Notes: † electro-diesel; ‡ hydrogen-powered British railcars and diesel multiple units list Electric multiple units Departmental multiple units

v t e Southern Railway and BR Southern Region rolling stock designations
Diesel multiple units	2H 3D 3H 3R 3T 4L 6B 6L 6S
Electric multiple units	2-BIL 2-EPB 2-HAL 2-HAP 2-NOL 2-PAN 2-PEP 2-SAP 2-SL 2-TIS 2-WIM 3-CEP 3-CIG 3-COP 3-SUB 3-TC 3-TIS 4-BEP 4-BIG 4-BUF 4-CAP 4-CEP 4-CIG 4-COM 4-COR 4-DD 4-DES 4-EPB 4-GRI 4-HIT 4-JOP 4-JUP 4-LAV 4-PEP 4-PER 4-REP 4-RES 4-SUB 4-TC 4-TEP 4-VEC 4-VEG 4-VEP 4-VIP 4-VOP 5-BEL 5-DES 5-JUP 5-TCB 5-VEC 5-WES 6-COR 6-CIT 6-HIT 6-JAV 6-PAN 6-PUL 6-REP 6-TC 7-TC 8-DIG 8-GAT 8-MIG 8-VAB
Miscellaneous vehicles	GLV MLV TLV
Southern Railway multiple unit numbering and classification British railcars and diesel multiple units list British electric multiple units list Departmental multiple units Rolling stock of Network SouthEast