Class 142 (62 vehicles)
Whilst the Class 141’s were the first production second generation units, their short working lives and the limited fleet size of 20 2-car sets led to the Class 142 becoming the dominant "Pacer" (14X) design. They were a development of the Class 141 with most of the mechanical shortcomings ironed out. This success resulted in 96 2-car sets being built between 1985 & 1987 and they ran for far longer than their earlier sisters.
Sadly the Class 142 became a victim of the national media in the final five years of their working lives. In spite of better reliability than newer units, and their use strengthening/lengthening services that were badly overcrowded, public and enthusiasts alike "turned" on them and they gained an irreversible reputation for rough riding, poor quality and cheap build quality. At 35 years of age, these criticisms were not wholly unfounded, nevertheless it was interesting how the mainstream press (as opposed to the specialist railway press) singled the Class 142/143/144 fleet out, going into far more detail than is normal for end-of-life rolling stock. New disability access regulations scheduled to come into force in 2020 became the final nail in the coffin for the 14X fleet, forcing their much delayed withdrawal from service.
In December 2019 the first sets, all owned by Angel Trains, were scrapped and further withdrawals followed thick and fast, with many sets driving themselves to both storage locations and the scrapyards themselves. 142001 became the first to be preserved, having been reserved for the national collection. The same month saw another three sets saved (142029, 030 & 033), all being generally original ex Northern Rail examples based at Newton Heath (Manchester) which latterly had the largest Pacer allocation out of the five depots still running 14X units.
The following year, 2020, further sets were withdrawn from mainline service and another 15 preserved. Amongst these sets were examples with different seating (gained during later refurbishments), withdrawn from Heaton depot. Examples of the infamous "Miseryrail" high density seated sets were also saved. The international Covid-19 pandemic did not appear to deter purchasers, with withdrawn sets entering preservation at a rate not seen in years.
2021 saw the final sets, which had been in store at mainline locations, disposed of including the previously undisturbed Welsh sets. A single set was preserved meaning that at least one example from all four major 142 variants had been saved: a good result for Class 142 preservation. The same year saw a further eight sets saved bringing the total number to 62 vehicles. The class had thus become the largest DMU class in preservation.
Although not the preservation of whole Class 142 vehicles, it is believed that the cab from 142056 also survived.
142003, 007 & 014 were transferred to Locomotive Services Limited at Eastleigh in April 2020, however we do not recongise these as being preserved despite LSL's obvious strong association with heritage. This is because the 142's are owned by a Train Operating Company with a inferred intention for their mainline careers to be extended. Nevertheless they remain extant.