British Rail Class 210

The British Rail Class 210 was a diesel-electric multiple unit designed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works in the early 1980s as a prototype modern replacement for the first generation DMUs of the Southern Region. Seven vehicles were built and formed into two trains, a four-car outer-suburban unit, 210 001, and a three-car inner-suburban unit, 210 002. The bodies looked very like those of the first Class 317 electric units, with half of the leading carriage taken up by the engine room. The three-car unit had a Paxman RP type engine of 1,125 brake horsepower and the four-car unit an MTU TC type of 1,140 brake horsepower. After entering service on 5 July 1982 around Reading and Paddington, the units were withdrawn in the 1980s without a production order, though their testing influenced the Sprinter generation and some carriages were reused in the Class 457 development train.