North Eastern Railway 3-12 / Class EB1

The North Eastern Railway was pioneer of electric traction in Britain. Following on from the construction of a couple of electric shunting engines built in the early twentieth century (the Class ES1) the NER electrified an eighteen and a half mile long freight line between Shildon and Newport County Durham [2] (which included part of the original Stockton & Darlington Railway). The line was electrified to 1500v DC overhead and a fleet of ten Bo-Bo electric locomotives was built for it. These were the first mainline electric locomotives built for 1500v DC in Britain. They were built in-house at NER's Darlington works with electrical equipment supplied by the Siemens factory in Stafford [3]. The locomotives had a low top speed (45 mp/h) though usually ran at 25 mp/h and could haul a train of 1,400 tons [4].

Information
Number built:	10
Built:	1914
Builder:	NER Darlington
Engine:	4 Siemens traction motors (1500v DC OHLE)
Power:	1, 100 hp (820 kW) (Class EB1) 1, 256 hp (937 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Bo-Bo

Unfortunately a decline in coal traffic throughout the 1920s made using electric locomotives on the line uneconomic. The catenary needed replacement by the mid-1930s, the decision was made to revert to steam traction in 1935 [5]. The locomotives were withdrawn though one did survive as a shunter used at the Ilford carriage sidings. For this role it's power output was raised. It survived into British Railway use and became known as the Class EB1. It was finally withdrawn in 1964 when the electrification was converted to AC [7].

Public domain image [1]

View of the catenary in a freight yard, public domain image [6]

[1] "Electrification of an English Freight Line", Electric Railway Journal Vol. XLVIII No. 1 (July 1916) p. 5
[2] Brian Haresnape, Electric Locomotives (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 7
[3] Electric Railway Journal p. 4
[4] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains and Locomotives in the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 57
[5] Haresnape p. 9
[6] Electric Railway Journal p. 7
[7] Paul Smith & Shirley Smith, British Rail Departmental Locomotives 1948-1968 (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 26

Class 374 Eurostar e320

The Class 374 is the second-generation of unit used on Eurostar services. Eurostar began looking for new stock in the early 2000s as the existing Eurostar e300 Class 373 could be used on a wider range of European networks such as routes electrified using German 15kV AC and Dutch 1.5kV DC overhead wires [1]. The older Eurostar sets also could not be fitted with ERTMS signalling equipment. The Class 374 e320 (the 320 due to the fact it can travel at up to 320 kph) has supplemented around half of the 373 fleet.

Information
Number built:	272 (17 16-car sets)
Built:	2012-18
Builder:	Siemens
Engine:	Siemens traction equipment (25/15 kV AC / 1.5/3 kV DC OHLE)
Power:	10, 782 hp (8, 000 kW) AC 5, 632 hp (4, 200 kw) DC
Formation:	Driving Motor First Open (DMFO)+Trailer Brake First Open (TBFO)+ Motor First Open (MFO)+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+TSO+MSO+ TSO+Motor Standard Open Restaurant Brake (MSORB) [x2]

The Class 374 consists of eight car half-sets which operate in pairs with the two driving cars at either end. The Class 374 is part of Siemens Velaro high speed train family though with the traction equipment distributed throughout the train for safety whilst travelling in the Channel Tunnel (this has also allowed the 374 to have a greater passenger carrying capacity than the 373). This safety requirement was key to Alstom when they challenged Eurostar awarding Siemens the contract saying the Velaro broke Channel Tunnel safety rules. However the European Commission rejected this argument and Alstom dropped their legal action.

The original order was for ten sets though an extra seven sets was ordered later on. The Class 374 entered service in 2015, the first of the new extended routes through to Amsterdam was launched in April 2018 [2].

Class 374 left and 373 right at St Pancras International

374 016 at St Pancras International

Two 374s at St Pancras International

[1] Colin J Marsden (ed.), "Siemens Class 374 (e320) Stock", Modern Locomotives Illustrated No. 227 October-November 2017 (Eurostar Stock) p. 72
[2] "Eurostar to Amsterdam in April", Modern Railways (March 2018) p. 12

Waterloo and City Line Shunter 75S

As well as electrical equipment for the Waterloo & City Railway Siemens Brothers were also contracted by the LSWR to built a small electric shunter for use on the self-contained underground line [1]. 75S (as it was numbered by the Southern Railway, British Railways later renumbered it DS75) spent all of it's working life underground. The locomotive was used for the shunting of Waterloo & City Stock and also hauling wagonloads of coal which had been bought down the Armstrong Lift up the line for the power station.

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1898
Builder:	Siemens
Engine:	2 Siemens traction motors (530-600v DC third rail)
Power:	120 hp (90 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	4w

75S had a driving cab at only one end and had two nose-suspended traction motors of the same type used on the passenger stock [2] with air brakes fed from a reservoir. It remained in service until 1969 and has been preserved by the National Railway Museum. A second electric locomotive (74S later DS74), a larger Bo-Bo type with a central steeple-cab was also built for the line though was moved to work on the surface at Wimbledon in 1915 [3].

75S as preserved at NRM Shildon in Southern Railways livery

Another view of 75S

[1] Colin J Marsden, Diesel & Electric Locomotive Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2011) p. 245
[2] John C. Gillham, The Waterloo & City Railway (Oakwood Press, 2001) p. 133
[3] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains & Locomotives in the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 23

Birmingham Corporation Tramways 301 Class

The Birmingham Corporation Tramways street car network was the fourth largest in Britain. Unlike most other tram networks it was to 3ft 6in narrow gauge (and was the largest narrow gauge tram network [1]). The 301 Class was built for an expansion of the network in 1911 for routes Birmingham Corporation Tramways had taken over to Handsworth, Selly Oak and Kings Norton [3]. However the 301 Class was also slightly lower than earlier trams (and a bit longer) to allow it to pass under a low bridge at Aston. This became the standard height for subsequent trams.

Information
Number built:	100
Built:	1911
Builder:	United Electric Car Company / Dick, Kerr & Company
Engine:	2 DK13A traction motors (550v DC OLHE [2])
Power:	80 hp (60 kW)

The 301 Class introduced a number of new features which later became standard across the fleet, the design taking advantage of operational experience gained from earlier types. The 301 Class had interpole electric motors (which were better for tram cars with electric braking and which were used on more challenging routes [4]). They also had notch regulator controllers, a new type of Westinghouse magnetic brake and some flexibility in the movement of the axles.

The original order for the 301 Class was for sixty cars with the car bodies built by the United Electric Car Company and equipment by Dick, Kerr. Another forty cars were ordered to replace cars inherited from the companies Birmingham Corporation Tramways had taken over which were found to be in a poor condition [5].

Some cars were converted into single deckers in the First World War though later converted back as the routes they were being used on saw passenger increases. Most of the fleet remained intact until the Second World War though post-war withdrawals began in earnest and the 301 Class ended service in 1950. Car 395 was saved from scrapping (one of only two Birmingham trams to survive) and since 1953 has been in Birmingham Science Museum / Thinktank.

395 preserved at Thinktank

View of 395's roof

Notice the staircase

Upper floor was open at both ends on this class of tram

Entrance

Guards at the front and sides

[1] P.W. Lawson, Birmingham Corporation Tramway Rolling Stock (Birmingham Transport Historical Group, 1983) p. 13 
[2] “New power station at Birmingham, England”, Street Railway Journal December 1906 Vol. XXVIII No.22 p. 1043 [3]
[3] Lawson p. 43
[4] Lawson p. 192
[5] Lawson p. 45