British Rail Class 205

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British Rail Class 205
Class 205, no. 205009 at London Victoria on 15 August 2003, with a service to Uckfield. This service no longer runs, with all trains to Uckfield now diverted to London Bridge. 2004 was the final year of service of these elderly units. This unit is now preserved on the Eden Valley Railway.
In service	1957-2004
Manufacturer	BR Eastleigh
Number built	34 trainsets
Formation	2/3 cars per trainset
Operator	Southern
Specifications
Maximum speed	75mph (121 km/h)
Weight	56
Engine	English Electric 4-cylinder type 4SRKT Mark II of 600 bhp (450 kW) at 850 rpm

Class 205, no. 205009 at London Victoria on 15th August 2003, with a service to Uckfield. This service no longer runs, with all trains to Uckfield now diverted to London Bridge. 2004 was the final year of service of these elderly units. This unit is now preserved on the Eden Valley Railway.

Class 205, no. 205032 at London Bridge on 15th August 2003, with a service to Uckfield. These units have now been replaced on Southern by new Class 171 Turbostar units. This unit is now preserved on the Dartmoor Railway.

The British Rail Class 205 (or 3H) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh from 1957-1962.

[edit] Description

This class of unit were built in four different batches for use on different lines.

[edit] Numbers 1101-1118

The first batch of units, numbered 1101-1118 were built in 1957 as two-car units and were classified as 2H. They were built for services on the non-electrified routes from Portsmouth-Salisbury-Andover and Alton-Winchester-Southampton. However, due to increasing passenger numbers, all eighteen units were strengthened to three cars, with the addition of a centre trailer, and therefore were reclassified as 3H units. However, the designation above the left buffer continued to read 2H. Upon the introduction of TOPS they were reclassified as Class 205. Some of these were to be subsequently converted back to 2 car sets, but they retained their Class 205 designation.

[edit] Numbers 1119-1122

The second batch of 2H units, numbered 1119-1122, were built as 2-car units in 1958. These units were built for services on the Marsh Link Line from Hastings to Ashford, and associated branch lines. These units remained as two-car sets until 1979, and were reclassified as Class 204 upon the introduction of TOPS.

[edit] Numbers 1123-1126

The third batch of units were built as three-car sets in 1959, and were numbered 1123-1126. These units were built to supplement the first batch on services in Hampshire. Therefore collectively, the first and third batches are often called Hampshire sets.

[edit] Numbers 1127-1133

The final batch of units, numbered 1127-1133, were built in 1962 as three cars sets. These units have some detail differences from the earlier batches, such as a different internal layout, and smaller route indicators (compare the two photos). They were built for services from Reading to Salisbury, and other services in Berkshire. Therefore this final batch of units are often called Berkshire sets.

[edit] Technical details

Power car (one per set)

• Introduced: 1957
• Weight: 56 tons
• Engine: English Electric 4-cylinder type 4SRKT Mark II of 1,000 bhp (750 kW) at 850 rpm (600 shaft hp)
• Transmission: Electric, two English Electric type EE507 traction motors rated at 375 kW (~500 bhp) each.
• Maximum tractive effort: 12,500 lbs (55,602 N)
• Driving wheel diameter: 3 ft 6 in (1.1 m)
• Coupling code: Standard 'Buck eye' compatible with contemporary Class 20x and 4xx units.
• Train heating: Electric

Number 1129 was experimentally fitted with a Dorman 12QTCW V-12 diesel engine of 725 shaft hp.

[edit] Fleet Details

Unrefurbished Class 205/0

Refurbished Class 205/1

Refurbished Class 205/2

Departmental Units

[edit] Withdrawal

The final units, nos. 205001/009/033 were withdrawn in mid-December 2004.

[edit] Preservation

Due to a generous disposal policy by Porterbrook Leasing, nearly all of the final units in service were preserved. The only unit not preserved was no. 205012, which had poor bodywork and donated its engine to the only surviving unrefurbished Class 207 unit.

• 205001 - East Kent Railway
• 205009 - Eden Valley Railway
• 205018 - Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
• 205023 - Hampshire & Sussex Unit Preservation Society (HSUPS) at the Lavender Line
• 205025 - Mid-Hants Railway
• 205028 - Dartmoor Railway
• 205032 - Dartmoor Railway
• 205033 - Lavender Line
• 205205 - North Yorkshire Moors Railway

In addition to the above complete units, a driving trailer from unit 205008 (DTCsoL 60820) has been preserved by Hastings Diesels at St Leonards-on-Sea; on 18 October 2007, 60820 was moved by road to the Lavender Line, to whom it is "on loan".

[edit] Models

A 00 gauge kit is available from DC Kits but at this time there hasn't been a ready to run model of the Class 205. Dapol have announced (May 2008) that a limited edition OO RTR model of the Class 205 will be produced in collaboration with Kernow Model Rail Centre. This is expected to be available in 2009. Dapol also announced that they would duplicate the model in N scale.

[edit] External links

• Hampshire & Sussex Unit Preservation Society (HSUPS) - owners of preserved unit 205023.
• Hastings Diesels - owners of preserved DTCsoL 60820 from unit 205008.
• Eden Valley Railway - home of preserved unit 205009.
• Kernow Model Rail Centre
• DC Kits