Class 158
The Class 158 was constructed between 1989 and 1992 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works.
The majority were built as two-car sets, some three-car sets were also produced.
During September 1990, the first Express Sprinters were operated by ScotRail the type was promptly introduced to secondary routes across the Midlands, Northern England, Wales and the South West.
The Class 158 enabled the replacement of large numbers of elderly DMUs but also several locomotive-hauled trains as well, this was partially accomplished via the cascading of existing Sprinter units onto other routes.
To capitalise on the Class 158's improved onboard amenities in comparison to other rolling stock in use for regional services, the Alphaline branding was launched during the mid-1990s it was also used for a time in the post-privatisation era.
The Class 158 is a two- or three-car diesel unit designed for regional express services.
The body shells are aluminium with doors at each end of the passenger saloon.
Each vehicle is fitted with a Cummins or Perkins engine that drives both axles on the inner bogie via a Voith T 211 two-speed hydrokinetic transmission and Gmeinder GM 190 final drive unit.
The engines were rated at either 350 hp (260 kW) or 400 hp (300 kW), depending on the model.
Maximum speed is 90 mph (145 km/h).
Most units were built with two coaches, but a batch of units contained an additional centre car for the busy Transpennine Route.
Each vehicle is fitted with a BSI autocoupler at both ends, however only the cab ends have automatic electrical connecters.
This allowed three-car sets to be formed by inserting an additional driving car into a set with an adaptor for two different gangway sizes.
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