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Class 309 AM9

The Class 309 was built for Great Eastern AC electric routes out of London Liverpool Street to Clacton and Walton. They were based on the Mark 1 coach design and had a high performance being intended for express passenger duties and were the first British Rail EMUs (officially) capable of reaching 160kp/h (100mp/h) [1].

As built the 309s, originally known as the AM9, were in two and four car sets though the two-car 309/1s were strengthened in the 1980s to four car sets by the addition of loco-hauled Mark 1 stock [2]. Restaurant facilities (the griddle cars) were however removed at the same time from the 309/2s.

Information
Number built: 76 cars (2 and 4 car sets)
Built: 1962-63
Builder: BR York, Wolverton
Motor: 4 GEC WT101 traction motors per unit (25kV AC OHLE)
Power: 1, 128 hp (841 kW)
Formation: (309/1) Driving Motor Brake Standard Corridore (DMBSK)+
Battery Driving Trailer Standard (BDTS) (later) Driving
Motor Brake Standard (DMBS)+Trailer Standard (TS)+
Trailer Composite (TC)+BDTS
(309/2) Battery Driving Trailer (BDTC)+Motor Brake Standard
Corridore (MBSK)+Trailer Restaurant Buffet (TRB)+
Driving Trailer Composite (DTC)
(309/3) BDTC+MBSK+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+DTC (later)
BDTC+Motor Brake Standard (MBS)+TS+DTS

In the privatisation era some units moved to the North West where they continued in service around Manchester but these were withdrawn in 2000. A couple of units were converted to departmental use testing cab-signalling as the Class 960/1. These were preserved in 2009.
Preserved 309 616 in London & South East ("Jaffa Cake") livery as these received in the mid-1980s [3]

309 616 and 960 102, then at the Electric Railway Museum

Front view of 309 616

Side view of 960 102

Side by side

Another view of this livery, the forerunner to Network South East

[1] Alec Swain, Overhead Line Electric Multiple-Units (Ian Allan, 1990) p. 48
[2] Colin J. Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 227
[3] Colin J. Marsden, Motive Power Recognition 2: EMUs (Ian Allan, 1986) p. 35