British Railways Pacer

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The Pacer is one of the most interesting passenger railroad equipment I have been on. Technical she’s called a railbus, since she’s built by ex-British Rail Engineering Limited in conjunction with bus companies (Layland and Walt Alexander), and she’s got bus parts and has 4 wheels per car (essentially, the Pacer was a bus mounted on the frame of a freight car). The ride on the Pacer wasn’t the greatest, bouncy and noisy. However, she did ease the pressure on the ex-British Railways on cut running costs for rural and suburban railroad lines in the UK in the mid-1980s. Five variants of the Pacer have been built over the years, Class 140 to 144. I had spent my time on these funny little railbuses on board of the Class 142 and 144 operated by Northern Rail.

Prototype Pacer
Northern Rail Class 142
Northern Class 144, I've been on this exact service to Doncaster from Sheffield

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