Class 501 (BR Eastleigh LMR London Area Suburban Services 3-car)

As well as the extensive network on Southern Railway the London Midland & Scottish Railway also had a number of third rail electrified lines including from Watford to London Euston. The Class 501 was built for this route and London Broad Street-Richmond.

Information
Number built:	171 (57 3-car sets)
Built:	1957-58
Builder:	BR Eastleigh
Engine:	4 GEC traction motors (660v DC third rail)
Power:	740 hp (550 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS)+Trailer Second (TS)+ Driving Trailer Brake Second (DTBS)

The Class 501 was built at BR Eastleigh to a fairly standard (of the time) EMU design based on the shorter Mark 1 coach underframe. They were built with a LMR specified front end including a headcode panel and a destination blind [1]. The units were built without gangway connections and with some seating in compartments though this was later removed because of vanadalism and concerns for passenger safety [2].

Although not the best riding units ever built they soldered on until the mid-1980s. Some passed through into departmental use serving as battery locomotives and sandite trains. Two cars also served with the MOD. A DMBS and a DTBS have been preserved and are now at the Electric Railway Museum.

Preserved cars at the Electric Railway Museum

This car carried the departmental TOPS number 977 349 when serving as a battery locomotive

Both cars are undergoing restoration

[1] Brian Haresnape & Alec Swain, Third Rail DC Electric Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1989) p. 41
[2] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 376