It looked like a typical first generation DMU, but anyone travelling on the Aberdeen-Ballater line in the late 1950s would quickly notice something different. There was no engine noise. The 'diesel' simply glided away from the stations, with the 'clickety-clack' of the rail joints the only sound effect. For this was the UK's first and only passenger train which, like a good toy, came supplied with batteries! The location of one of the country's most remarkable motive power experiments was Deeside, one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland and closely associated with the Royal family. Although the Great Southern Railway of Ireland had operated a Drumm battery-powered unit for nearly 15 years from 1932, the Scottish experiment was the first main line passenger example of its type in the UK. Unfortunately, like the Drumm unit, it was not to start a trend.
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