The Class 730 is part of the Aventra family and is being built for West Midlands Trains to replace the Class 323, Class 319s and some Class 350s operated by West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.
WMR 730 005 stands at Crewe
Information
Number built:
333 (81 3 or 5-car sets)
Built:
2020-
Builder:
Alstom Derby (Bombardier)
Motor:
Bombardier traction system (25kV AC OHLE)
The first Class 730 was built in 2020 and began testing in 2021. Entry into service is planned for late in 2023, at first the 730s will replace the Class 319s operated by LNWR.
The 730/0s are 3-car sets which will be operated by WMR on the Cross City Line. Five car 730/1 and 730/2 will be operated by LNWR on outer suburban and long-distance routes. Unlike other Aventra family units such as the Class 345, the Class 730 has gangway connections on the ends of the units.
The Class 331 electric multiple unit is part of the CAF Civity family and is the electric counterpart to the Class 195 diesel multiple unit. Forty three sets have been built for Northern, thirty one being three car unit, the other twelve being four car with an extra trailer. The Class 331 entered service with Northern in 2019 replacing the Class 321 and 322.
Northern 331 015 at Crewe
Information
Number built:
177 (43 3 or 4-car sets)
Built:
2019-
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
8 TSA TME 52-15-4 traction motors (25kV AC OHLE)
Power:
2, 360 hp (1, 760 kW)
Formation:
(331/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory) + PTS (Pantograph Trailer Second) + DMS (Driving Motor Second)
(331/1) DMSL + PTS + TS (Trailer Second) + DMS
Apart from the power generation and drivetrain the Class 331 is identical to the Class 195. The units are one of the fastest accelerating units in British service.
The Class 33 was built for British Rail's Southern Region in the early 1960s as the region's main diesel locomotive. It was based on the earlier Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon locomotives, the Classes 26 and 27 though benefited from the lack of a need for gangway connections so had a much neater cab design [1]. It was also more powerful than the earlier locomotives being a true Type 3 (over 1, 500hp).
D6515 arrives into Kidderminster Town
They were originally intended mostly for freight work but, with good foresight by Southern Region, they were fitted with electric train heating only - indeed the lack of a need to carry a boiler for steam heat had allowed a more powerful diesel to be fitted in the same body shell as the earlier locomotives [2]. They were often to be found on passenger services on the Kent Coast and to Bournemouth and elsewhere.
Information
Number built:
98
Built:
1960-62
Builder:
Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company
Engine:
Sulzer 8LDA28 diesel
Power:
1, 550 hp (1, 156 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
Bo-Bo
Most Class 33s were in the standard 33/0 sub-class, however a number were also fitted for push-pull operations as 33/1 and operated with the 4-TC (Class 438) [3] though could also work with any Southern Region Electro-Pneumatically controlled multiple units and locomotives.
A batch of locomotives was also reduced in width by 178mm for operation on the Hastings Line with its restricted clearances as the 33/2. Sadly the expense and effort in modifying the design for what turned out to be a small batch of locomotives is said to have contributed to BRCW's bankruptcy in the mid-1960s.
Nowadays a handful of the locomotives, known as Cromptons by enthusiasts after the Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment installed in them, remain in mainline use with the West Coast Railway Company however twenty-nine have been preserved covering all three sub-types.
33 103 in BR Blue at Wirksworth
The difference a repaint makes! 33 103 at Wirksworth again but in BR engineers grey
33 108 and a Class 14 at Kidderminster Town
Side view of D6515
33 035 at Kidderminster Town
[1] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 1-3 (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 58 [2] David Brown, Southern Electric Vol 2 (Capital Transport, 2010) p. 215 [3] John Vaughan, Diesels on the Southern (Ian Allan, 1980) p. 33
These locomotives were built by English Electric / AEI Traction for Ghana Railways. The locomotives were very similar to the British Rail Class 37 though had hood type cabs. These locomotives formed the mainstay of the Ghana Railways locomotive fleet for many years.
Being delivered [1]
Information
Number built:
16
Built:
1969-70
Builder:
English Electric / AEI Traction
Motor:
EE 12CSVT Mk II diesel
Power:
1, 850 hp (1, 380 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
Co-Co
However, by 1999 only two remained in service. The last survived in storage between 2003 and 2007 before it was finally scrapped.
The Class 360 is part of the Desiro family of electric multiple units though unlike their Desiro cousins such as the Class 450 they do not have end unit gangways (though some test units were built with these, later removed [1]). The main batch of these EMUs, the Class 360/1, was built to replace the Class 312 on services out of London Liverpool Street to Clacton-on-Sea, Ipswich and Colchester originally for First Great Eastern but later operated by Greater Anglia.
EMR 360 103 at Corby
Information
Number built:
109 (25 4 or 5 car sets)
Built:
2002-05
Builder:
Siemens
Engine:
1TB2016-0GB02 three-phase traction motors (25kV AC OHLE)
Power:
1, 341 hp (1, 000 kW)
Formation:
360/1: Driving Motor Composite Open (DMCO)
+Pantograph Trailer Standard Open (PTSO)+
Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+DMCO 360/2: Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO)
+PTSO+TSO+TSO+DMSO
Another batch (360/2) of 5-car sets was operated by Heathrow Connect on London Paddington - Heathrow stopping services. One was also operated by Heathrow Express on the Heathrow Central -Terminal 4 shuttle. These Heathrow Express units were replaced by the Class 345 in 2020. Greater Anglia's units were replaced by Class 720s around the same time.
The majority (the 360/1 fleet of 21 sets) of the fleet is now operated by East Midlands Railway on the newly electrified Midland Main Line route to Corby. Three other sets are to be used for infrastructure test and development purposes. Two have been scrapped.
Back in Heathrow Express days, 360 205 at Old Oak Common, this unit has been scrapped
360 103 at Kettering
Another view of 360 103
Aboard an EMR 360
360 104 at Corby
[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 275
By the 1920s Bradford City Tramways was facing increasing competition from the motor bus. To compete with this new threat an experimental tram was designed and built, the first by the company's own workshops, for quiet operation and to operate at higher speeds than earlier trams. The single decker tram was fully enclosed with a central door. The tram had two bogies, each with it's own motor. The English Electric series-wound motors were designed to reduce the hum associated with earlier motors and were connected to the axles via a worm drive.
The tram in operation [1]
Information
Number built:
1
Built:
1926
Builder:
BCT Thornbury Depot
Motor:
2 English Electric electric motors (DC OHLE)
Power:
126 hp (670 kW) / 1, 350hp (1, 005kW)
Formation:
(175/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL
(175/1) DMSL+MSL (Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL
Although the tram was a smooth runner with a good performance it's Achilles heel was it's size, it could seat only thirty four passengers which made it unsuitable for use in peak hours [2]. The tram only served for five years and was scrapped in 1931.
[1] "British car designed for quiet operation", Electric Railway Journal Vol. 60 No. 19 (May 7 1927) p. 817
[2] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 107
