Pacer (train) - Class 143 & Class 144

Class 143 & Class 144

Around the same time of the Class 142 development, a Pacer railbus was being developed by Kilmarnock-based Hunslet-Barclay. The train used a Walter Alexander bus body. The train was given the number Class 143 and entered service in 1985. Again with two 205 bhp motors giving a total output of 410 bhp (310 kW) and a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h), the class originally had a capacity of 122 passengers. The class was used in the North East of England, before being transferred to Wales and was moved over to Wales & West control during privatisation. It then passed on to Wessex Trains, which became part of the Great Western franchise. The interior was completely changed in 2000, when the Valley Lines service was introduced, with full back, coach-type seating installed throughout, along with improved fittings. This reduced seating capacity to 106 seats per set.

Then came a similar Class 144 train, a Walter Alexander body on BREL underframe, which was introduced in 1987. A unit was formed of either a two-car set with 122 seats or a three-car set with a total capacity of 195 passengers and 690 bhp (510 kW), though still limited to 75 mph (121 km/h). The trains were used in the North East, passing to Northern Spirit at privatisation, then Arriva Trains Northern and now Northern Rail.