Class 316 / 457 Networker Testbed

To help develop the Class 465 "Networker" electric multiple unit British Rail took four coaches from the Class 210 prototype diesel electric multiple unit and used them as a test bed, firstly as the Class 457 for DC third rail and later as the Class 316 for AC overhead [1].

The former Class 210s were converted at RTC Derby and then ran for a while on Southern Region. The 457 was fitted with three-phase traction motors which allowed for significant energy savings over earlier types of motor [2].

67300 when at the Electric Railway Museum

Information
Number built:	4 (1 4-car set)
Built:	1989-90 (Class 210s originally built 1981)
Builder:	BREL Derby / RTC Derby
Engine:	Brush three-phase traction motors (750v DC third rail (457) 25kV AC OHLE (316))
Power:	1, 140 hp (850 kW)
Formation:	(457) Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO)+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+TSO+DMSO (316) DMSO+Pantograph Trailer Standard Open (PTSO)+TSO+DMSO

Later they returned to Derby and were converted to AC traction by inserting a PTSO from a Class 313 and worked AC electrified lines North of the Thames. Of the four cars used two were later converted to form part of Class 455/9 EMUs. One car, 67300, has been preserved.

Side view of 67300's cab

The other end of 67300, it wears Network South East livery

[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 355
[2] Alec Swain, Overhead Line Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1990) p. 80

Metropolitan Railway 1906 Stock (M and N Stock)

The Metropolitan Railway began the electrification of it's lines in the early 1900s, with the first electric services running between Baker Street and Uxbridge in 1905. Electrification gave the Metropolitan Railway a problem however, they were left with a number of nearly new surplus locomotive hauled carriages. In 1906 the Metropolitan Railway began to convert these carriages into electric multiple units [1].

Side view of an M Stock DM [2]

Information for M Stock
Number built:	58 (Carriages)
Built:	1898-1900 (Conversions 1906)
Builder:	Ashbury Railway Carriage & Wagon Company (Conversions) British Thomson-Houston
Motor:	4 GE69 electric motors per power car (600v DC fourth rail)
Power:	1, 600 hp (1, 194 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor (DM) + Trailer (T) + T + T + T + T + DM

The first conversions were 4-car rakes converted in 1906. They were initially found to be underpowered and were retro-fitted with more powerful motors. These cars, later in 6-car rakes, were known as N Stock and were later used on the Metropolitan Stanmore branch.

Also created were 7-car rakes with GE69 motors [2], two motors apiece on each bogie on the Driving Motor. These M Stock trains were later strengthened to 8-car rakes. Behind the cab in each Driving Motor the former guard and luggage compartment became an equipment area containing switching and other control electrical apparatus which took up about a third of the coach [3].

M Stock on test [2]

GE69 electric motor [2]

Equipment area behind the driver's seat in the cab [2]

[1] Piers Connor, The London Underground Electric Train (Crowood Press, 2015) p. 135
[2] "Converted coaches on the Metropolitan Railway", The Electrician (Oct 12 1906) p. 1004
[3] Oliver Green, The London Underground. An Illustrated History (Ian Allan, 1987) p. 26

Class 121 (Pressed Steel Branch Line Services 1-car)

The Class 121, like the Class 122, was a single-car diesel multiple unit - though unpowered trailers (originally known as Class 149) with cabs at one end were also built to supplement capacity during times of peak demand [1]. The Class 121, which was nicknamed the Bubble Car, was the last survivor of the first generation of British Railway DMU and remained in service until 2017.

Sandite unit 960 014 at Aylesbury

Information
Number built:	26 cars (16 DMBS 10 trailers)
Built:	1960
Builder:	Pressed Steel
Engine:	2 AEC or Leyland 1595 diesels per DMBS
Power:	300 hp (220 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Brake Standard (DMBS)+[Driving Trailer Standard (DTS)]

The Class 121s were allocated to British Rail's Western Region working on lightly used branch lines in Cornwall and along the Thames Valley. Originally in BR green they later carried BR blue and grey and some also received Network South East livery [2]. In the privatisation era they have worked with Silverlink and Arriva Trains Wales as well as their final operator Chiltern Railways.

The Class 121 outlasted all other first generation DMUs, a small number remained in service until 2017 on the Princes Risborough - Aylesbury branch line having been fitted with central door locking to meet current safety standards [3]. When finally withdrawn they were the last remaining first generation British Railways DMU in service, and also the last surviving vacuum braked passenger stock.

A number of Class 121s also found a new role in departmental service and were renumbered in the Class 960 sequence. They have been used for route learning, track surveying and sandite depositing. Thirteen DMBS and two trailers have been preserved.

Chiltern 121 020 at Aylesbury

Side view of preserved W55023 at Chinnor

W55023 at Chinnor

Preserved 960 010 at Chinnor

Another view of W55023

[1] Brian Haresnape, Diesel Multiple Units, the First Generation (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 60
[2] Gavin Morrison, British Railway DMUs in Colour (Ian Allan, 2010) p. 33
[3] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 80

Liverpool Corporation Tramways Streamliner Car

Having begun the modernisation of it's tramcar fleet in the early 1930s with the Priestly Bogie Cars, which were fully enclosed and had double bogies, the Liverpool Corporation built a series of modern trams throughout the 1930s including a large fleet of 163 Streamliner cars (also known as "Liners").

869 at Crich

Information
Number built:	163
Built:	1936-37
Builder:	Liverpool Corporation Edge Lane Works
Motor:	4 GEC WT184 electric motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	144 hp (107 kW)

The Streamliners were fitted with EMB bogies [1] and had a high passenger carrying capacity [2]. Unfortunately they were also expensive to run. Although Liverpool had continued to invest in it's tram network in the 1930s, post-war the network was run like as in most places. Withdrawals of the Streamliners began in the 1950s. However, forty six were sold to Glasgow Corporation where they continued to be used until 1960.

The example shown here, Number 869, was the second Streamliner to be built. It was sold to Glasgow in 1954 and continued in use until 1960 when it entered preservation. However it was not fully restored to working order until 1993. It is now at Crich Tramway Museum.

Side view showing the double bogies

View of the destination blinds

[1] Brian P Martin, Liverpool Tramways 2: Southern Routes (Middleton Press, 1998) Fig. 120
[2] Martin Jenkins & Charles Roberts, Merseyside Transport Recalled (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 25

Class 800 Intercity Express Train

The future of high speed intercity services on key routes including the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line are in the hands of the Class 800, part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). These high speed multiple units are bi-mode electro-diesels (the Class 801 is a pure electric multiple unit version). There is also the Class 802 which is a bi-mode with a higher diesel power output and larger fuel tanks.

GWR 800 030 at London Paddington

Information
Number built:	536 (80 5- and 9-car sets)
Built:	2015-18
Builder:	Hitachi Kasado & Newton Aycliffe
Motor:	Hitachi traction system (25kV AC OHLE) MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel

Final construction of the Class 800 is taking place at a Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe though much of the build including the body shells are being made at a Hitachi factory in Kasado Japan. The prototypes were wholly built in Japan.

The Class 800 are operated by Great Western Railway (800/0 and 800/3) and London North Eastern Railway (800/1 and 800/2) as five or nine car sets. GWR introduced them into service in Autumn 2017 and LNER (formerly Virgin Trains East Coast who gave them the name Azuma) introduced them in 2019.

GWR's 800s were originally to have been the pure-EMU Class 801 but because of delays in electrifying the GWML the order was switched to the bi-mode Class 800 which has been designed to be able to switch from diesel to electric (and vice versa) at line speed. However they can only achieve their maximum speed (of up to two hundred and twenty five kp/h depending on signalling) in electric mode.

LNER 800 1134 departs Peterborough

Aboard GWR 800 009

GWR 800 013 at Reading

GWR 800 023 at Cardiff Central

In Virgin colours 800 101 at York

Westinghouse Electric Locomotives (Oakbank Oil)

British Westinghouse built these three electric locomotives, at their Trafford Park factory, for the Oakbank Oil Company in Mid Calder, West Lothian in the early twentieth century for use on the company's private narrow gauge (762mm) railway. The locomotives had DC series-wound motors with reduction gear drive and coupling rods to the wheels. The first two locomotives had 50hp motors with a single reduction gear. The third had a 95hp motor and double reduction gear. This allowed for the motor to run at higher speeds and the electrical equipment to be placed above the wheels allowing for easier maintenance as well as higher power. The higher centre of gravity and spring suspension also improving riding on poor quality track [1].

Locomotive on test at Westinghouse works [1]

Information
Number built:	3
Built:	1908
Builder:	British Westinghouse
Motor:	Westinghouse electric motor (500v DC third rail)
Power:	50 hp (37 kW) / 95 hp (71 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	0-4-0

The third locomotive was able to haul coal trains weighing over 145 tons. The illustration above demonstrates the access panels for the motor and electrical equipment. The locomotives could take electricity from a trolly pole or a third rail (which was used by Oakbank Oil).

[1] A.C. Kelly, "A new electric locomotive", The Electrician (May 15 1908) p. 108