The British Rail Class 142 Pacer are diesel multiple-unit passenger trains built for British Rail (BR) from 1985 to 1987. They were built with a high level of commonality with the widely-used Leyland National bus. They are part of the Pacer family of railbuses. The last set was withdrawn from service in 2020.
Arriva Trains Wales Class 142 at Cardiff Central in 2016
Arriva Trains Wales Class 142 interior in 2013
Class 142 in the original British Rail Provincial two-tone blue livery at Castleford in 1987
The interior of a refreshed First North Western Class 142
Pacer was the operational name of the British Rail Classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses, built between 1980 and 1987. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle. The railbuses were intended as a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock, with a lifespan of no more than 20 years. As modernised replacements were lacking, the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021 – 37 years after their introduction in 1984.
A Class 142 and Class 143 at Exeter St Davids in 2011
Some Pacers were based on the Leyland National bus
The bus style bench seating originally used on a Class 144 Pacer
The prototype Pacer Class 140
