leading causes for their eventual retirement. Once the units from Scotland had returned, they were put into use working the rural lines around Greater Manchester, especially the Buxton and Hope Valley Lines on services into Manchester Picadilly. It was intended to phase the 101s out of service in favour of the Class 142 in the late 1990s, but the Privatisation of British Rail delayed those plans. Post privatisation Following privatisation the remaining 101 sets in mainline service fell under the ownership of Angel Trains and operated by the First North Western franchise once the units from Scotland had been returned to Manchester. FNW declined to repaint the trains again, and they retained their former liveries. A total of 18 sets were in service initially. Ongoing problems with the Pacer units and the Sprinters' use on other lines meant that the 101s were called on to continue in service. The 101s outlasted the Class 141 Pacer in service, a type which had been intended to replace the older unit. The 101 was seen regularly running on the North Wales Coast Line service between Crewe and Holyhead alongside loco hauled trains as late as 1999. The type was unsuited to the route, and was replaced with the British Rail Class 175 from 2000. It fell to the 101s to run the stopping service from Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent, along with other rural routes in the north west. Beginning in late 2000, the age of the units was starting to tell and the remaining 101s were gradually retired. They were used exclusively on the Hope Valley services until the end of their career. The very last scheduled service for the type anywhere was run on 24 December 2003 between Rose Hill and Manchester Piccadilly at which point the final five units were decommissioned from service, and sent to Shoeburyness for storage. Farewell Because of the type's popularity and longevity in service, a final farewell tour for the 101s was run in late 2003 which was a railtour of northwest England. Accidents and incidents On 10 August 1961, Class 45 D105 running light to Neville Hill over-ran signals and collided with a Leeds - Scarborough Class 101 almost opposite Leeds East Signal Box. Leaking diesel caught fire and the leading two DMU vehicles (51440 & 59533) overturned, but were returned to traffic after repair. One person was killed, and two injured. The driver of the