Blue Pullman

Common card · No. 390047

The Blue Pullmans were luxury trains used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman diesel multiple units, incorporating several novel features. Named after their original Nanking blue livery, the trains were conceived under the 1955 Modernisation Plan to create luxury diesel express trains aimed at competing with the motor car and the emerging domestic air travel market. Although not entirely successful – they were seen as underpowered and ultimately not economically viable – they demonstrated the possibility of fixed-formation multiple-unit inter-city train services. A decade later, the concept was developed as the InterCity 125, which resembled the Blue Pullmans in having an integral power car at each end of the train. There were two versions, built by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham: two first-class six-car sets for the London Midland Region (LMR), and three two-class eight-car sets for the Western Region (WR). They were initially operated by the luxury train operator...

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