The Central Trains / London Midland / West Midlands Class 153 Diesels

The class hit the headline news in November 1999, when two separate Central Trains units' engines fell off, in separate incidents, in less than a week.

In the summer of 2000, Central Trains 153383 lends its extra seating to the operator's green liveried 158844.

After witnessing a collection of former Central Trains Class 153s tootling off to Long Marston in a final shift away from the West Midlands, I thought now would be a good time to pictorially review their years in the area. Whilst I'm founding the article on the Central Trains period, I'm carrying the progression through into the London Midland and West Midlands Railway eras, taking a look at where each vehicle ended up after Central Trains dissolved, etc.

The 153s were never without some controversy in the Central region. The class hit the headline news in November 1999, when two separate Central Trains units' engines fell off, in separate incidents, in less than a week. 153356 and 153334 lost their engines on the 11th and 16th of the month respectively, both whilst working very early morning services. But there was another reason why Central Trains' 153s took a more persistent verbal beating, as we'll see...

The Central Trains & Centro Class 150s - Info-Pictorial

"...Early that month, strange aesthetic omissions began to occur within the CT 150 fleet. 150022 was outshopped ex-works in Central Trains green, but with no branding at all..."

Prior to London Midland’s introduction of the Class 172 in 2011, the almost exclusively dominant multiple unit on rail routes emanating from Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street was the Class 150. The 150s had also maintained strongholds on some routes out of New Street – the Birmingham to Cannock service, for example. And they had a modest presence on the Lickey Incline too.