British Rail Class 142

The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple unit railbuses built for British Rail from 1985 to 1987, with a high level of commonality with the Leyland National bus. It followed the Class 141 with a wider body, which allowed three-by-two seating and between 102 and 121 seats per two-car unit, and with railway-grade wiring and a microprocessor-based transmission controller to avoid the reliability problems of its predecessor. The original Leyland TL11 engines of 200 horsepower (150 kilowatts) per car were replaced from the early 1990s by Cummins L10 engines and Voith transmissions. Because both axles of each car are fitted directly to the chassis rather than to bogies, the type had a comparatively poor ride quality, and flange squeal on tight curves was a problem on many routes. The class was withdrawn from service in 2020 because it did not comply with key accessibility legislation.