Central London Railway 1903 Stock

The Central London Railway (which eventually became the London Underground's Central Line) was the first true "tube" railway in London [1]. It initially used electric locomotives hauling trailers but as soon as the railway opened in 1900 it was drawing complaints from property ownes above the line about excessive vibration, this was found to be caused by the heavy locomotives and their large unsprung weights [2]. The locomotives were replaced in 1903 by electric multiple units, known as 1903 Stock, some of which were new build and some converted from the loco-hauled trailers.

Preserved Sleet locomotive ESL 107 at LT Museum Acton

Information
Number built:	259 (88 motor cars, 99 trailers, 72 control trailers)
Built:	1900-03, 1913
Builder:	Ashbury Railway Carriage & Wagon Company Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage & Wagon Company (later Metro-Cammell) Brush
Engine:	(Original) 2 British Thomson-Houston traction motors per motor car (Ealing) 2 GE212 traction motors per motor car (550v DC third rail)
Power:	(Original) 500 hp (372 kW) (Ealing) 960 hp (720 kW)

The new motor cars were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company (BRCW) and Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, the original trailers having been built by the Ashbury Railway Carriage & Wagon Company and Brush. In 1908 some trailers were converted to control trailers to allow for shorter trains in the off-peak [3].

The fleet was augmented in the 1910s with the extension of the line to Ealing, extra stock was built by Brush with more powerful traction motors (the original stock was found to be underpowered when used in a lengthy formation). In the 1920s all stock was retrofitted with air-doors.

The CLR became part of London Underground in 1933 (and was renamed the Central Line soon afterwards). The 1903 Stock was replaced by Standard Stock as the CLR's central third rail system was replaced by the standard LU fourth rail.

Some 1903 Stock lived on as sleet locomotives. One of these locomotives, ESL107 has been preserved, it is the only 1903 Stock to have survived.

1903 Stock in service [5]

Interior view [5]

Another view of ESL 107

Cab of ESL 107

[1] Paul Moss, London Underground (Haynes, 2014) p. 29
[2] J. Graeme Bruce & Desmond Croome, The Twopenny Tube (Capital Transport, 1996) p. 15
[3] Brian Hardy, Underground Train File Tube Stock 1933-1959 (Capital Transport, 2001) p. 5
[4] John Glover, London Underground Rolling Stock in Colour (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 31

[5] "Fireproof cars on the Central London", Street Railway Journal Vol. XXII No. 9 (Nov 7 1903) p. 851

Halifax Corporation Tramways

Halifax Corporation Tramways began operations in 1898 with a 1068mm gauge electric tram system, within a few years they had over sixty kilometres of track and nearly one hundred tram cars. The steep gradients of the town made operating a tram difficult, and some accidents were caused thought to attributed to the use of narrow gauge trams. In the early 1920s the network reached it's maximum extent and the Corporation began constructing it's own tramcars. However, in the next decade the motor bus began to replace the tram and in 1939 the system was shut down.

G.F. Milnes built 14 [2]

Information for 124-127
Number built:	4
Built:	1928-29
Builder:	Halifax Corporation Tramways

Early tramcars were built by G.F. Milnes and Brush Traction. From 1925 Halifax Corporation began to build it's own Standard Cars. Halifax used it's own version of the Peckham 8A truck, only one other tram in the country used this design [1]. Many tram cars were built as open top double deckers though later received a top cover. No trams received covers for the top balconies.

[1] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design 1885-1950 (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 109

[2] Alexander Hume Ford, "Trolly cars in other climes", The Electric Age Vol XXXIII No. 2 (August 1904) p. 88

Mather and Platt Electric Locomotive for Tweedle and Smalley

This early electric locomotive was built by Mather & Platt of Salford Iron Works for the textile factory of Tweedle & Smalley in Castleton. The locomotive was used to shunt wagons containing coal for the boiler house as well as other stores. The locomotive could haul a loaded wagon that weighed up to twenty tons at up to two miles per hour. The locomotive collected power from an overhead conductor wire via two collector bars mounted on the roof. This system was found to work well on with the tight radii of the track circuit the locomotive worked on. The locomotive was of very simple construction and resembled a wagon. Speed was regulated using a resistance box.

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1895
Builder:	Mather & Platt
Motor:	Manchester electric motor (DC OHLE)
Wheel arrangement:	4wWE

[1] J.F. Gairns, "Electric locomotives for mining, factory and allied uses", Electrical Age (August 1904) p. 91

Class 395 Javelin

The Class 395 Javelin has been built for domestic services on the HS1 route in Kent and also other commuter routes in the South East. The Javelin is built for high speed and can reach up to 225kp/h (140mp/h) on the 25v AC electrified HS1 route and 161kp/h (100mp/h) on other routes electrified by DC third rail [1].

Southeastern 395 014 at Rochester

Information
Number built:	174 (29 6-car sets)
Built:	2007-09
Builder:	Hitachi
Motor:	Hitachi traction system (16 motors) (25kV AC OHLE & 750v DC third rail)
Power:	2, 253 hp (1, 680 kW)
Formation:	Pantograph Driving Trailer Standard Open (PDTSO)+ Motor Standard (MS)+MS+MS+MS+PDTSO

The Class 395 is based on Hitachi's 400 Series Mini Shinkansen and A-Train train families. The trains were built as part of the upgrade to the capital's transport infrastructure before the 2012 Olympics and entered service in 2009. The Javelin fleet is operated by South Eastern and has greatly reduced commuter travel times into London St Pancras.

A Javelin waits at St Pancras 

Side view of 395 014 at Rochester

Two 6-car sets head into St Pancras, the nose code retracts to allow coupling

Another Javelin at St Pancras

Side view of a Javelin

[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 298

Class 745 Flirt

The Class 745, part of Stadler Rail's Flirt family of electric multiple units, has been built for Greater Anglia intercity services and the Stansted Express. It has replaced Class 379 and Class 90 hauled services.

Greater Anglia 745 001 at Stratford

Information
Number built:	240 (20 12-car sets)
Built:	2018-20
Builder:	Stadler Rail

The Class 745 is a part of a fleet replacement programme alongside it's bi-mode cousin the Class 755. The Class 745 entered service in early 2020 following a few months delay. The EMU has two sub-classes, 745/0 for Greater Anglia and 745/1 for the Stansted Express.

745 105 at London Liverpool Street

745 001 arrives at Stratford

Preparing to depart