The Class 487 electric multiple unit spent the entirely of it's revenue earning service running underground. They were operated on the Waterloo & City Line, which nowadays is part of London Underground but originally was a separate line to the majority of London's subterranean railways and owned by a succession of mainline railway companies until nationalisation and British Rail. In 1994 the line was transferred to London Underground to become an Underground line proper.
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| At LT Museum Acton in restored NSE livery |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Number built: | 28 cars (12 DMBSO driving cars and 16 TSO trailers) |
| Built: | 1940 |
| Builder: | English Electric Dick Kerr works |
| Engine: | 2 English Electric EE500 traction motors (660v DC third rail) |
| Power: | 380 hp (283 kW) per driving car |
| Formation: | (Variable) Driving Motor Brake Standard Open (DMBSO)+ Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+DMBSO |
Designed by O.V.S. Bulleid, the Class 487s (originally TOPS classified Class 453) were built for the Southern Railway during World War 2 and entered service from 1940 [1]. The units consisted of driving motor cars (with cabs at both ends - and hence could operate singly) and trailers. In off-peak periods the Waterloo & City Line trains often ran with just a pair of motor cars until the 1960s when this was thought to be unsafe due to the excess of power [2]). In peak times up to three trailers could be marshalled between two motor cars.
The Class 487 remained in service until being replaced by the Class 482 in 1993 seeing out it's final days in Network South East livery. Before that, the units wore Southern Railway green and BR Blue (though uniquely without yellow ends) [3]. The Class 487s operated on 660v DC third rail and spent all of it's working life on the short underground line though the units did see sunlight now and then when they needed heavy maintenance and had to be bought up to the surface. For test purposes to develop a new speedometer, one driving car was operated above ground in the late 1970s for a short period [4]. As it did not have windscreen wipers the tests had to be curtailed immediately if it rained!
One DMBSO has been saved from the scrap man and has being restored at the London Transport Museum to its final Network South East livery.
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| Interior |
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| Cab view |
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| Restored condition |
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| A photo taken in May 2015 during the restoration |
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| The preserved car in under coat, what a difference a livery makes! |
[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 370
[2] Colin J Marsden & Christopher G Perkins (ed.) "The Waterloo & City Line", Modern Locomotives Illustrated Annual No. 2 (RailwayCentre, 2010) p.82
[3] John Glover, London Underground Rolling Stock in Colour (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 31
[4] Marsden, DMU p. 371