The NZR DM/D electric multiple units were ordered in 1936 and built by English Electric. The first six DM motor cars and D trailers entered service in 1938. Due to traffic growth, three more DM cars and two more D trailers were ordered in 1942 and placed into service in 1946. Forty more DM cars and 71 D trailers were ordered in 1946 and supplied from 1949 onwards for the expansion of the Wellington suburban services (the Wellington - Upper Hutt line).
The DM motor cars have 54 seats and D trailers have 70 seats. The most famous member of the class, DM 556 'Cyclops', is a three-car unit (D-DM-D). Its restoration earned TranzMetro a "Business in Conservation" award from the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Wellington Conservation Board in 2006.
Here we see a rather dirty 'Cyclops' waiting at Melling in its original 'Midland Red' livery, before refurbishment, and before the high visibility yellow ends were added.
