Class 142 Pacer on the Wensleydale Railway at Leyburn

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 5 Jul 2022

Love them or hate them (and more people seem to be in the latter camp rather than the former), the BR ‘Pacer’ diesel multiple unit railbuses were stalwarts of local services across the north of England for nearly 40 years. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle and were initially intended to be a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock. However, following privatisation, modernised replacements were lacking, and the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021 – 37 years after their introduction in 1984. It was therefore a mild surprise when I visited the Wensleydale Railway and found that their services were being operated by two Class 142 Pacers. It seemed somewhat strange to ride on a ‘heritage’ service using a vehicle on which I had enjoyed/endured so many local journeys during the past few years. I suppose ‘nostalgia’ has to begin sometime!

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