British Rail Class 421

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British Rail Class 421
Class 421/7 no. 1498 "Farringford" at Lymington Pier on 26 May 2005. This unit has been restored to 1960s-era British Railways green livery for use on the Lymington Branch Line.
In service	1964 - Current
Manufacturer	BR
Number built	Unknown
Formation	driving trailer + trailer + power car + driving trailer
Operator	British Rail, South West Trains
Specifications
Car length	265ft 8 1/2in
Width	9ft 3in (2.81m)
Height	12ft 9 1/4in (3.89m)
Maximum speed	90mph (145 km/h)
Weight	150 Tons
Power output	4 x 250 hp traction motors total 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Gauge	standard gauge
Voltage	750V dc third rail

Class 421/3, no. 1717, at Clapham Junction on 20 August 2004. This was one of the final few 'Phase 1' 4Cig units in service with Southern.

Class 421/5, no. 1313, at London Waterloo on 19 July 2003. This is one of 22 "Greyhound" units that were operated by South West Trains. This unit has since been withdrawn and scrapped.

The British Rail Class 421 (or 4Cig) electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works from 1964-1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern Railway-designed units, such as the 5Bel "Brighton Belle" units, and 4Cor units. These trains were known commonly as "slam-doors".

[edit] Standard units

The standard units contained only passenger accommodation, and formed the bulk of the fleet. They were unusual in that all four traction motors were mounted on one non-driving motor coach. Units consisted of two driving trailers, sandwiching an intermediate motor coach, and an intermediate trailer.

Units were built in two batches. 'Phase 1' units were built from 1963-66 for the Brighton Line, and were numbered 7301-7336. These were followed from 1970-72 by the 'Phase 2' units, built primarily for the Portsmouth line, numbered 7337-7438.

[edit] 4Big units

The 4Big units were similar to the standard units, but contained a buffet car in place of the intermediate trailer.

These units were also built in two batches. 'Phase 1' units were built from 1965-66, and were numbered 7031-48. 'Phase 2' units were built in 1970, and were numbered 7049-7058.

The 4Big fleet were initially classified as Class 420 by British Rail under the new computer numbering system introduced in 1968.

[edit] Vehicle numbering

The numbering of individual vehicles and details of when units were built are shown in the table below.

Class 421/6, no. 1908, at London Victoria on 15 August 2004. This unit was one of eight modified 'Phase 1' unit fitted with Mk.6 motor bogies. It was also one of only four 'Phase 1' units to be repainted in South Central livery. It was withdrawn in October 2004 and has since been scrapped.

[edit] Refurbishment

Units were facelifted from 1985-93.

[edit] 8Mig units

In 1983, two temporary 8Mig units, numbered 2601-2602, were formed whilst the 4Big fleet underwent asbestos removal. Therefore, four standard 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, numbers 7401-7404, were reformed with conventional locomotive-hauled miniature buffet carriage (RMB). Each 8Mig unit was formed by marshalling the RMB coach in between two units, one of which was reduced to three carriages, with the removal of the intermediate trailer (TSO). Thus, in effect, each 8Mig unit was effectively formed of 4Cig + RMB + 3Cig. The formations of the units are listed below:

These units were only used during the summer of 1983, after which enough asbestos-free 4Big units were available. The two 8Mig units were disbanded and the four 4Cig unit reformed. The 4Cig units have since been renumbered several time, as shown below:

Class 421/7, no. 1410, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003. This unit was one of eleven 3Cop units converted from redundant 4Big units in 1997, for use on Brighton Coastway services by Connex South Central. Since then, this unit has been augmented to a 4Cop with the addition of a 'Phase 1' intermediate trailer. It was one of the final three such units in service and was withdrawn in March 2005.

[edit] 8Dig units

In 1992, four 8Dig units, numbered 2001-2004, were formed by semi-permanently coupling a 4Cig and a 4Big unit. The units were dedicated to London Victoria to Brighton express services, which were operated as the Capital-Coast Express.

The 8Dig units were formed from four 'Phase 2' 4Big units, and two 'Phase 1' and two 'Phase 2' 4Cig units. The 'Phase 1' units, numbers 1901/02 (recently renumbered from 1715/16), were fitted with Mk.6 motor bogies. Interestingly, one of the 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, no. 1875 (ex. 7404), had previously been part of 8Mig unit 2602. Unit formations are listed below:

The units were disbanded in 1996, after replacement by dedicated Class 319/2 units. The various 4Cig and 4Big units were reformed and gained their original numbers, except unit 1875, which was renumbered to 1802.

Class 421/4, no. 1879, at Charing Cross on 18 March 2003, with a service to Hastings. This unit was operated by South Eastern Trains, and is painted in Network SouthEast livery. This unit has since been withdrawn from traffic and scrapped.

[edit] Current operations

Only two units now remain in service, 3Cig units nos. 1497 and 1498, which are used on the Lymington Branch Line.

[edit] Privatisation to withdrawal

After rail privatisation in the mid-1990s, the different divisions of British Rail were divided up into different franchises. The three former SR division; South-Eastern, South Central and South-Western; all operated 4Cig units, and are dealt with separately here.

[edit] South Eastern Trains

South Eastern Trains (SET) operated a small fleet of three 'Phase 1' and 22 'Phase 2' 4Cig units. The franchise was originally operated by Connex as Connex South Eastern.

All but one of the 'Phase 2' units continued to carry the obsolete Network SouthEast livery. One unit, no. 1870 was repainted into Connex yellow and white. The three 'Phase 1' units were painted in white undercoat livery, since their use was originally only supposed to be short-term. However, despite this, the units remained in traffic for seven more years, from 1997 to 2004. They were popularly known as "Ghosts" by rail enthusiasts.

From 2003, units started to be withdrawn, having been replaced by the second batch of the new "Electrostar" units. The three 'Phase 1' units had gone by mid-2004. The final unit, no. 1843, lingered on for several months longer than its classmates, and was eventually withdrawn in mid-November 2004. All the SET units have been scrapped.

Class 421/4, no. 1861, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003, on the rear of a service to Brighton. This unit was one of a handful repainted into the new South Central livery.

[edit] South Central / Southern

The South Central Division inherited the largest fleet of 4Cig units. Originally, this included all remaining 'Phase 1' units, although some later transferred to South Eastern Trains, 35 'Phase 2' units, and the four 8Dig units. The remaining few 4Big units were also used on the former Central Division.

The South Central franchise was initially won by Connex South Central, who applied their yellow and white livery to most stock. In 2000, they lost the franchise to the Go-Ahead Group, who operated the franchise as South Central. In 2004, this was changed to Southern. Four 'Phase 1' units (nos. 1735/38/40, 1908) and eight 'Phase 2' units (nos. 1854/56-62) received Southern's new green livery.

In 1997, the remaining 4Big units were withdrawn. Eight of these units were transferred to South West Trains. The remaining eleven unit were heavily rebuilt at Eastleigh Works, with compartments removed and opened out, and the buffet carriages withdrawn. The modified units were reclassified as Class 421/7, and renumbered into the 1401-1411 range. The units were also known as 3Cop units, which denoted their intended use, dedicated to East Coastway and West Coastway services out of Brighton. Two units received names, a rarity for slam-door EMU stock.

• 1408 - Littlehampton Progress 2000
• 1409 - Operation Perseus

In 2004 some units were augmented to four carriages, with the addition of a 'Phase 1' intermediate trailer (and thus became 4Cop units).

From 2003, Southern started to replace its slam-door fleet with new Class 377 Electrostar units. In general, the 'Phase 1' units were withdrawn first due to their age, but as deliveries of the Electrostars increased, some 'Phase 2' units were also withdrawn. By late-2004 only a handful of 'Phase 1' units and 4Cop units remained in service. The final 'Phase 1' units in traffic were units 1704/08/11/12/14/17/43 and 1901, with the final unit, no. 1704, being withdrawn in February 2005. The final 4Cop units, nos. 1404/10/11 were withdrawn in March 2005.

The 'Phase 2' units lasted longer, and two, nos. 1805 and 1866 were retained beyond August 2005, when slam-door trains lost all diagrammed work. They lasted until 19 November 2005, when they worked a farewell railtour, following which they were withdrawn.

Class 421/8, no. 1396, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003. This unit is one of eight "Greyhound" units converted from redundant 4Big units for use by South West Trains. The buffet coach was replaced with a spare 4Cep trailer vehicle, which is identifiable by its different profile as the second vehicle in the unit.

[edit] South West Trains

South West Trains inherited a small fleet of twelve 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, and the larger fleet of 22 "Greyhound" units, which had been modified to allow faster acceleration.

In 1997, the fleet was augmented with the addition of eight 4Big units from Connex South Central. These operated with the counter in the buffet carriages out of service. By 1999, the units had been stored.

In 1999 eight additional "Greyhound" units were converted from the redundant 4Big units. The units were reclassified as Class 421/8, and renumbered in the range 1392-1399. The modifications included the removal of the buffet carriages, which were replaced by spare intermediate trailers from 4Cep units. Most of these trailers came from 4Cep units that were converted to 3Cep units, but a few came from withdrawn units. These trailers were immediately recognisable as while they the same body profile to the rest of the unit the windows are different and they have InterCity70 seating. The buffet carriages were withdrawn, although many were saved for preservation.

In December 2004, unit no. 1394, was reduced to a three car unit, with the removal of its Cep trailer. It was reclassified as Class 421/7, renumbered to 1499, and dedicated to the "Lymington Flyer" service, replacing the previous incumbent unit, no. 1198.

Withdrawals of units started in mid-2004, as many new Class 444 and Class 450 "Desiro" units have entered service. By the end of 2004, just a handful of units remained in traffic. The final few units were withdrawn in May 2005, with the last units in traffic being 1304/09/12/16, 1392/95-98, 1499 and 1881/90. The final slam-door service ran on 26 May from London Waterloo to Bournemouth using units 1396, 1398 and 4Vep 3536. Following withdrawal, two units, nos. 1304 and 1881 were transferred to "warm-storage" for use by Southern, if required. Most of the other units were sent for scrap, with the exception of nos. 1392 and 1499.

Class 421/7 no. 1498 "Farringford" at Lymington Pier on 26 May 2005. This unit has been restored to 1960s-era British Railways green livery for use on the Lymington Branch Line.

Services on the Lymington Branch Line are now operated as a "heritage" operation using one of two refurbished 3Cig units, nos. 1497 and 1498. The two units have been repainted into their original liveries, and were launched into service on 12 May 2005.

[edit] Further use

Following withdrawal from normal service, several vehicles have seen further use in departmental service.

• 3Cop unit 1401 was employed as depot shunter at Ashford Chart Leacon depot. It was made redundant when Chart Leacon stopped overhauls of slam-door stock and was sent for scrap in July 2005.
• MBS 62356 (ex-unit 1850) has been converted into an ultrasonic test train vehicle for use by Network Rail. It has been renumbered 999606.
• The rest of unit 1850, namely DTC 76629, TS 71036 and DTC 76789, were owned by Network Rail to provide spares for 999606 but have now been scrapped at Booths.
• One vehicle, no. 76112 from 'Phase 1' 4Cig unit 1749 was rebuilt as the Class 424 "Networker Classic" prototype in 1997. It was displayed to the public at London Victoria, paired with unrebuilt driving trailer 76747 from 4Big unit 2256 for comparison purposes. Since the project was shelved, the prototype vehicle remains stored at Derby.
• DTCSoL Vehicles 76765, 76836 (1882) / 76775, 76846 (1890) were released recently by HSBC from Shoeburyness for parts stripping at Derby RTC, when completed these vehicles then went to C.F Booth.

[edit] Preservation

So far, five units have been preserved. In addition, numerous buffet cars from 4Big units have also been preserved. The full list is shown below, and complete units are highlighted:

• 'Phase 1' unit 1753 has been preserved by the Network SouthEast Railway Society and is stored at a private location.
• 'Phase 2' "Greyhound" unit 1393, a former 4Big unit, is preserved on the Great Central Railway. It is operated in push-pull mode with the line's Class 33 locomotive, this unit became the first 4-CIG in preservation to operate in Push/Pull move with the lines Class 33, D6535 (33116).. A BIG buffet car has arrived from Coventry Rly Centre and displaced the CEP TSO, recreating a BIG again. See Class 411 section for more on the TSO.
• 'Phase 2' "Greyhound" unit 1399, also a former 4Big unit, is preserved on the Dartmoor Railway. This unit is stored pending a professional restoration. (One of this unit's driving trailers, 76747, was displayed along with the prototype "Networker Classic" coach to provide the opportunity for comparison.)
• 4Cig unit 1392 and 3Cig unit 1499 are preserved at the Dean Forest Railway. The latter was previously dedicated to services on the Lymington Branch Line. Both are in need of some work as vandals have been busy.
• It was hoped that unit 1705 (formerly 7301), the first-built unit, would be preserved by Southern, for use on special excursion trains. Unfortunately, its poor condition precluded this and it was eventually scrapped.
• South West Trains have retained two 'Phase 2' 3Cig units for use on the Lymington branch.
• 14 Feb 2008. TSO vehicle 71085 from 1884 was delivered from store at Shoeburyness to Deptford, where it will become a cafe.

A preservation group called http://www.savethecigs.org.uk Save the Cigs Group - had been set up with the intention of saving at least one of the units currently stored at Shoeburyness, but is now looking into an already preserved unit instead.

[edit] Remaining Unpreserved Units/Coaches

[edit] Preserved Units

[edit] Fleet details

Original-condition Units

Facelifted units