Constructed in Birmingham, the Class 101 DMU was one of the longest lasting DMUs to ever see service in the UK. 527 of the class would be built across many orders from BR between 1956 and 1960. The first units would enter BR service in 1956 in the BR green livery.

Class 101 units at the height of their use could be seen in all corners of the UK, at the onset of privatisation in the 1990s the units would appear in all manner of colourful liveries such as the Network South East colours and First North Western. Throughout their life, Class 101 units would occasionally appear as a three car sets where demand dictated.

Unit 101695 is made up of units 51226 and 51499. A long period of the locomotives post-BR life was spent in Scotland in the striking Strathclyde PTE livery. In 2023, the unit is preserved and in working order on the Mid Norfolk Railway having been repainted from the Strathclyde livery into its introductory colours of BR green.