The Class 455 electric multiple units were built by BREL York [1] in the early 1980s to replace 4-SUB and EPB stock on Southern Region routes. They are an example of 1982 Standard High Density Stock, 137 sets were built between 1983 and 1985. Currently they are operated by South Western Railway on commuter lines out of London Waterloo. They were also operated by Southern but these units have now been withdrawn.
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| Painted in BR livery, SWR 455 868 at Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Number built: | 548* (137 4-car sets) * including 43 cars from Class 508s |
| Built: | 1983-85 |
| Builder: | BREL York |
| Motor: | 4 EE507-20J traction motors per set (750v DC third rail) |
| Power: | 1, 000 hp (746 kW) |
| Formation: | Driving Trailer Standard Open (DTSO)+Motor Standard Open (MSO)+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+DTSO |
The units were based on some of the work behind the prototype Class 210 DEMUs and are related to the Class 317 and 318, like those units it was derived from the British Rail Mark 3 coach [2]. There are three sub-classes: 455/7, 455/8 and 455/9, a major visual difference is that the /7 and /9 sub-classes have a more rounded roof than the /8 which despite the numbering was built first. The 455/7s were built as 3-car sets but have included a carriage (TSO) taken from the Class 508 EMUs which they replaced, to turn them into 4-car sets. Since privatisation the Southern 455/8s lost their cab gangways in favour of an air conditioning unit giving them a different look to the other sub-classes.
The SWT Class 455s were refurbished in the late 2010s and some units were fitted with new traction motors [3]. (It is worth noting that the replaced motors were reconditioned English Electric motors from older SR EMUs such as the Class 405 and indeed dated from the early post-war period!)
The change in the South West Trains franchise in 2017 to South Western Railway saw a plan to replace the Class 455 with the Class 701 from 2020 [4] though this has been delayed and the final replacement of the Class 455 may not occur now until late 2025. Southern's Class 455s were withdrawn in 2022.
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| 455 914 at Oxshott |
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| SWR 455 720 at Reading |
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| SWR 455 851 at Byfleet & New Haw, notice the different cab roof |
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| Aboard a 455 |
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| 455 720 at Longcross |
[1] Colin J. Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 351
[2] Brian Haresnape & Alec Swain, Third Rail DC Electric Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1989) p. 77
[3] "Vossloh Kiepe UK to deliver traction upgrade to South West Trains’ Class 455 fleet"
[4] "Class 455 Death Sentence", Modern Railways (May 2017) p. 25
