Blackpool Corporation Pantograph Car

These ten single-decker trams were built in 1928 to replace the Fleetwood Box Cars and other elderly trams in Blackpool use. They were more luxurious inside ("Pullman" standard and with contemporary US styling) and had a smoother ride thanks to Dick Kerr bogies. They were built to answer to passenger complaints about some of the trams they replaced with their rough rides and lack of comfort. They were the first Blackpool trams to be fitted with Brecknell, Munro & Rogers pantographs (which gave them their nickname) though were retro-fitted with trolley poles in the 1930s.

167 at Crich

Information
Number built:	10
Built:	1928-9
Builder:	English Electric
Motor:	2 GEC WT28L electric motors (600v DC OHLE)
Power:	100 hp (75 kW)

Number 167 was the first to be withdrawn from service in 1953 though remained in use as an engineering car until 1962 when it entered preservation. Number 167 has been preserved in 1950s condition and is now at Crich. Three other trams survive as illuminated cars in the Blackpool fleet but by now have been altered beyond recognition.

Front entrance of 167

Class 707 Desiro City

Part of the Desiro City family like the Class 700, the Class 707 were built for services out of London Waterloo along the Windsor and Reading corridors [1].

SWR 707 014 at Clapham Junction

Information
Number built:	150 (30 5-car sets)
Built:	2015-17
Builder:	Siemens Transportation
Engine:	Siemens Traction System (750v DC third rail)
Power:	1, 600 hp (1, 200 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO)+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+TSO+TSO+DMSO

The fleet was ordered by South West Trains to increase capacity especially for peak-hour serices out of London Waterloo. The first 707s were delivered at the end of 2016 with an entry into service in the late Summer of 2017. Then events overtook them.

SWT's franchise was taken over by South Western Railway who decided that the 707s were unsuitable for their planned service improvements. SWR ordered Class 701 Aventra family EMUs instead [2]. The Class 707s will be replaced by 701s from 2019.

As yet the future of the 707s is undecided. In theory they could be scrapped though this is unlikely of course as they are virtually brand new and they will most likely be found somewhere else on the British network to operate. They were built as dual voltage EMUs though only a couple have been fitted with pantographs for testing on 25kV AC overhead lines, the rest have DC third rail shoes fitted only.

SWR 707 002 at Clapjam Junction

Aboard 707 005

SWR 707 023 at Woking

SWR 707 028 at Clapham Junction

SWR 707 026 at Virginia Water

[1] Colin J. Marsden, Rail Guide 2016 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 123
[2] "South Western Railway: the masterplan and its challenges", Modern Railway (January 2018) p. 51

Baguley Cars 680

Baguley Cars 680, now preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway, is probably the oldest surviving standard gauge petrol locomotive in the world [1]. Like many industrial locomotives it had a long working life of over fifty years. It was delivered new, as a petrol or paraffin fuelled locomotive, to Richard Johnson & Nephew's armaments factory (Ministry of Munitions National Filling Factory No. 2) in 1916. It moved to W & R Jacob's biscuit factory in Aintree after the war and remained there until retirement in 1967.

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1916
Builder:	Baguley Cars
Motor:	White & Poppe petrol/paraffin engine (later) Baguley 4-cyl petrol engine
Power:	60 hp (45 kW) - petrol 55 hp (41 kW) - paraffin (later) 40 hp (30 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	0-4-0PM

In 1927 it was hired out to the Cheshire Lines Committee to help with some civil engineering work. They managed to badly damage the locomotive and it had to be rebuilt. The original White & Poppe petrol/paraffin engine was replaced by a Baguley petrol engine which was less powerful but adequate for it's duties at the biscuit factory. No. 680 returned to work and remained in use for forty years as the spare locomotive on the company's internal network. No. 680 remained in service until the factory closed it's internal rail network in 1967 and was preserved.

Since retirement 680 has spent time at the Beamish Open Air Museum before arriving at the Statfold Barn Museum in 2011.

680 at the Statfold Barn Railway

[1] C.R. Weaver, "A veteran retires", Industrial Railway Record No. 21 (IRS 1968) p. 305

Docklands Light Railway B07 Stock

The third generation of Docklands Light Railway stock, known as the B2007 or B07 Stock, was ordered for network extensions and to increase capacity on the Bank-Lewisham route. The initial order was for twenty-four twin sets though another thirty-one were added to the order to increase capacity in East London ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.

B92 #132 (right) next to B07 #77 at West India Quay

Information
Number built:	55 twin cars
Built:	2007-10
Builder:	Bombardier
Engine:	4 VEM AC electric motors (750v DC third rail bottom contact)
Power:	696 hp (520 kW)

The B07 was delivered betwen 2009 and 2010. They have a different front end design compared to earlier DLR stock like the B90, the B07s have a slightly curved profile. They also have larger windows and improved interiors compared to older stock and improved acceleration and braking. The stock has had most transverse seating changed to longitudinal (like a tube train) to enable more standing space [1]. The B07 introduced the recent modification to the DLR livery with a black front end [2], older stock has also now had this change also.

#137 at South Quay

#155 at Canary Wharf

Interior of #142 (B end)

#146 at Canary Wharf

[1] Robert Prichard & Alan Yearsley, UK Metro & Light Rail Systems (Platform 5, 2019) p. 103
[2] Colin J. Marsden, Rail Guide 2016 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 277

Class 802 AT300

The Class 802 is part of the Hitachi AT300 family of bi-mode (and pure electric) units. Compared to the Class 800 the 802 has diesel engines with a higher power rating. They were built due to delays and reductions in the electrification in the Great Western Main Line which saw the need for GWR to receive bi-mode units with a higher diesel power rating for services to Devon and Cornwall.

GWR 802 015 at London Paddington

Information
Number built:	326 (46 5-car and 14 9-car sets)
Built:	2017-
Builder:	Hitachi Rail Europe
Motor:	Hitachi traction system (25kV AC OHLE) & MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel
Power:	940 hp (700 kW) per diesel

Unlike the Class 800 the 802 has been built at Hitachi's plant in Pistola, Italy. The first Class 802 was constructed in 2018 and entered service the same year. The GWR Class 802 Intercity Express Train comes in either five car (802/0) or nine car (802/1) set variant.

The Class 802 has also been ordered by Hull Trains (802/3) where they are known as the Paragon, and Trans Pennine Express (802/2) where they are known as Nova 1. Both operators have the five-car sets variant.

GWR 802 109 at Reading

The other end of 802 109 at Reading!

GWR 802 010 and friend at London Paddington

Bolton Corporation Tramways

Bolton Corporation Tramways began operating an electric tram service in 1899 taking over from Bolton Horse Tramways. In the early years of the twentieth century the network was expanded with a number of new lines opened. In fact extensions to the network continued until 1924 and at it's maximum extent the tramway was a combined fifty two kilometres in length. However like most tram networks the decline began in the 1930s and the tramway was shut down in 1947.

Tram 46 [1]

Information for original UEC fleet
Number built:	86
Built:	1899-1903
Builder:	G.F. Milnes / United Electric Car Company
Motor:	2 Witting, Eborall & Company electric motors (500v DC OHLE)
Power:	60 hp (45 kW)

The original fleet of trams was built by G.F. Milnes (later the United Electric Car Company), they were all double decker single truck trams with electric equipment by Witting, Eborall & Company [2]. Later trams were added to the fleet by Brush, UEC and English Electric making an eventual fleet of 138. Bolton were quick to fit top covers to their trams with trams being fitted with them in the early 1900s.

One tram (number 66) has been preserved and is operated by the Blackpool Tramway.

The first electric tram to enter Bolton [2]

[1] "New type of car for Bolton, England", Street Railway Journal (October 3, 1903) p. 645
[2] "The interurban systems of the South Lanchashire Tramways", Street Railway Journal (August 22, 1903) p. 261