British Rail Class 442
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| British Rail Class 442 "Wessex Electric" | |
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 Class 442, unit 442419 "BBC South Today" at London Waterloo on 19th July 2003. This unit is painted in South West Trains Express livery |
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| In service | 1988 - 2007, 2008 - |
| Manufacturer | BREL, |
| Number built | 24 trainsets |
| Formation | 5 cars per trainset |
| Operator | South West Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | DTFL/DFSL - 75ft 11 1/2in (23.15m) TSOL(A)/TSOL(B)/MBRSM - 75ft 5 1/2in (23m) |
| Width | 8ft 11 3/4in (2.74m) |
| Height | 12ft 6in (3.81m) |
| Maximum speed | 100mph 160 km/h |
| Weight | Total - 202.84 tonnes |
| Power output | 1,608hp (1,200kW) |
| Voltage | 750V dc third rail |
The British Rail Class 442 (or 5Wes) electrical multiple units, also known as Wessex Electrics, were introduced in 1988, to serve on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. Twenty-four of these 5-car units were built between 1988-89 by BREL at their Derby works. Their introduction coincided with the completion of electrification from Bournemouth to Weymouth. The entire fleet was operated by South West Trains.
It holds the world speed record for a third rail train with 174 km/h (108mph) attained on 11 April 1988.
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[edit] Description
The Class 442 is based on the Mark 3 carriage bodyshell, and has a number of features which distinguish it from the slam-door units it replaced:
- Vehicle length is 72 ft, as opposed to 65 ft.
- All vehicles are air-conditioned, and have powered internal doors and external plug doors.
- Units consist of 5 vehicles, and operate as 5-car or 10-car trains, replacing 4-car units which operated as 4, 8 or 12-car trains.
- Maximum permitted speed is 100 mph (160 km/h).
In true BR Southern Region tradition, many electrical components, including traction motors and electrical control gear, were salvaged from the Class 432 units they replaced. As such, the older 4Rep and 4TC units had to be withdrawn before their replacements were built, which resulted in some unusual unit configurations being used on the Weymouth line between 1986 and 1988.
The Class 442's increased top speed, combined with timetable changes, resulted in some minor journey time improvements, for example, the down fast train (xx32) reaching Southampton Airport Parkway station from London Waterloo in 58 minutes with no stops, over a journey of around 70 miles (100 km). The timetable change of December 2004 meant that the down fast train from London Waterloo took an hour from London to reach Winchester, with no stops.
The units were initially dedicated to the Weymouth line, but through the 1990s began to be diagrammed on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth direct line. Upon privatisation, the whole fleet passed to the South West Trains franchise. Unit 442402 was quickly rebranded and had an orange stripe added to its Network SouthEast livery, which looked very similar to Stagecoach Group's corporate image. From 1998, the fleet began to receive the new livery SWT Express white, red and blue livery as they underwent overhaul at Crewe Works. Unit 2404 was the first to be so treated.
During the late-1990s and early 2000s, the fleet continued to operate fast London-Weymouth and London-Portsmouth services. However, in 2004 when the Class 444 units were fully commissioned, the Wessex Electrics were again dedicated to the Weymouth line.
The Class 442 was one of the first types to make extensive use of plastics in construction, earning them the nickname among staff of "Pigs". When they were first introduced they were plagued by minor technical failures but have subsequently become among the most reliable EMUs operating in the UK. Their generous accommodation made them some of the most luxurious long-distance commuter trains anywhere.
In early-2006 the fleet began to receive overhauls, with units emerging in a slightly revised livery that conformed with the Disability Discrimination Act. By January 2007, fourteen of the 24 units had received overhauls.
Despite their recent overhauls, it was announced that South West Trains would be withdrawing the entire fleet of Class 442s in 2007, throwing their future into serious doubt. They have now been replaced on their duties by Class 444s, which in turn will be replaced on their duties by Class 450s spare from the reintroduction of Class 458s into traffic after modifications to their destination displays.
Southern are taking on 17 of these units to operate the extended Gatwick Express service they will be responsible for from mid 2008. Once refurbished, units are expected to run in pairs capable of carrying 600 passengers. However, some units are to be kept out of service for spare parts. The first unit, 442424, arrived at Lovers Walk T&RSMD on 15/11/2007 with 73136 Perseverance and 73204 Janice acting as insurance. [1]
[edit] Fleet details
Units are numbered 442401-424 (in traditional Southern style, only the last four digits are shown on the vehicle ends), and are formed of two outer driving trailers, two intermediate trailers, and an intermediate motor vehicle, which also has a buffet counter. The description of this formation is DTF+TSO+MBRSM/MBLS+TSW+DTSO. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:
- 77382-77405 - DTF
- 71818-71841 - TSO
- 62937-62960 - MBRSM or MBLS
- 71842-71865 - TSW
- 77406-77429 - DTSO
The motor buffet vehicles were all modernised in a works programme at Crewe from 1997-98. At the same time, units were also repainted from their original Network SouthEast livery, into South West Trains' Express livery. During 2006, South West Trains have sent some units to Bombardier at Ilford. The livery has been modified to make it Disability Discrimination Act friendly.
Over the years, various units have received names. Many of these are towns or places along the routes that they work, whilst a few have been for publicity purposes.
The complete fleet list is shown below, with details of vehicle numbers, names and livery.
| Key: | At Lover's Walk Depot, Brighton for testing | At Eastleigh Works in warm storage | At Chart Leacon Depot for C4/C6 overhauls | Wolverton Refurbishment |
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| Unit number | Name (All trains have now been un-named, plates were carried on MBLS) |
Livery | Individual coach numbers | Withdrawn | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTF | TSO | MBLS | TSW | DTS | |||||
| 442401 | Beaulieu | SWT Express (mod) | 77382 | 71818 | 62937 | 71842 | 77406 | 22/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442402 | County of Hampshire | SWT Express (mod) | 77383 | 71819 | 62938 | 71843 | 77407 | 12/2006 | [3] |
| 442403 | The New Forest | SWT Express (mod) | 77384 | 71820 | 62941 | 71844 | 77408 | 17/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442404 | Borough of Woking | SWT Express (mod) | 77385 | 71821 | 62939 | 71845 | 77409 | 15/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442405 | City of Portsmouth | SWT Express (mod) | 77386 | 71822 | 62944 | 71845 | 77410 | - | - |
| 442406 | Victory | SWT Express (mod) | 77389 | 71823 | 62942 | 71847 | 77411 | 15/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442407 | Thomas Hardy | SWT Express (mod) | 77388 | 71824 | 62943 | 71848 | 77412 | 22/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442408 | County of Dorset | SWT Express (mod) | 77387 | 71825 | 62945 | 71849 | 77413 | 17/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442409 | Bournemouth Orchestras | SWT Express | 77390 | 71826 | 62946 | 71850 | 77414 | - | - |
| 442410 | Meridian Tonight | SWT Express (mod) | 77391 | 71827 | 62948 | 71851 | 77415 | - | - |
| 442411 | The Railway Children | SWT Express (mod) | 77392 | 71828 | 62940 | 71858 | 77422 | 14/01/2007 | [4] |
| 442412 | Special Olympics | SWT Express (mod) | 77393 | 71829 | 62947 | 71853 | 77417 | - | - |
| 442413 | - | SWT Express (mod) | 77394 | 71830 | 62949 | 71854 | 77423[5] | - | [6][2] |
| 442414 | - | White and Grey | 77395 | 71831 | 62950 | 71855 | 77419 | 01/2007 | [7] |
| 442415 | Mary Rose | SWT Express | 77396 | 71832 | 62951 | 71856 | 77420 | 12/2006 | [3][2] |
| 442416 | Mum in a Million 1997 - Doreen Scanlon | SWT Express | 77397 | 71833 | 62952 | 71857 | 77421 | - | [8] |
| 442417 | Woking Homes | SWT Express | 77398 | 71834 | 62953 | 71852 | 77416 | 19/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442418 | Wessex Cancer Trust | SWT Express | 77399 | 71835 | 62954 | 71859 | 77418[9] | 12/2006 | [6] |
| 442419 | BBC South Today[10] | SWT Express | 77400 | 71836 | 62955 | 71860 | 77424 | 15/01/2007 | [11] |
| 442420 | City of Southampton | SWT Express | 77401 | 71837 | 62956 | 71861 | 77425 | - | - |
| 442421 | - | White and Grey | 77402 | 71838 | 62957 | 71862 | 77426 | 12/2006 | [7] |
| 442422 | Operation Overlord | SWT Express | 77403 | 71839 | 62958 | 71863 | 77427 | 19/01/2007 | [2] |
| 442423 | County of Surrey | SWT Express | 77404 | 71840 | 62959 | 71864 | 77428 | - | - |
| 442424 | Gerry Newson | White and Grey | 77405 | 71841 | 62960 | 71865 | 77429 | 22/01/2007 | [12] |
[edit] Notes
Only two diagrams were expected to operate on 13th January, the last passenger working with South West Trains of a class 442 unit was expected to be the 23.10 Weymouth to Bournemouth service, the last working from Waterloo being the 18.35 departure. This later turned out to be true, with several additional units running passenger services due to a shortfall of class 444 rolling stock. The last day of operation was on the 3rd February, where a staff special operated to Windsor and Shepperton from London Waterloo.
According to a manager at a 'meet the manager' session at Southampton Central on the 17/01/07 that the 442 refurbishment programme, which was cancelled within days of the incumbent being announced as the successful bidder for the South Western franchise renewal, would have seen the brake van and lounge area of the 442 refurbished with standard class seating accommodation.
This is an important consideration regarding the life-cycle of the 442 as with this refurbishment the number of seats available on a 5 car 442 unit would have exceeded the number of seats available on a 5 car 444 unit (SWT figures indicate before refurbishment there are only 4 seats less on a 442 unit), with the capacity of the 444 being touted by SWT as the reason for moving away from the class 442 stock. However the Angel Trains owned 442 stock costs 70-something pence a mile to run, compared to 30-something pence a mile to run of the Siemens 444 stock, which is perhaps the true reason why these trains are being handed back to Angel Trains many years before their desiged life-span has been reached.
The Trains are no longer running as the lease has expired (4th February 2007 at 02.00). All the units have congregated at Eastleigh for warm store. The last one to leave Bournemouth depot was 442416, departing on 3rd May 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ More trains arriving on busy rail routes (Note 5). Department for Transport (April 4, 2007).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Unit sent to Eastleigh as part of class withdrawal.
- ^ a b Unit withdrawn due to broken cab windscreen.
- ^ 442411 failed with a bearing problem at Waterloo, 13th January 2007
- ^ Originally from unit 442418.
- ^ a b The DTSO vehicles from units 442413 and 442418 were swapped following problems with these units. The DTSO from 442413 had a broken windscreen, whereas the motor coach in 442418 had suffered a failure. A working unit, numbered 442413, has been created. The four coaches from the original 442413 carry the new livery, having just undergone overhaul, whereas the DTSO (still numbered 442418) carries the old livery.
- ^ a b Returned from overhaul at Ilford Works carrying an unbranded white and grey livery
- ^ Unit 442416 was withdrawn in early August 2006 due to using unreliable and unique (to the fleet) equipment, but was reinstated shortly afterwards due to lack of availability of the fleet. It was withdrawn again in December 2006 after suffering from a fault with its motors. It received the motor bogies from unit 442421 and was in service again. Then again out of service due to cables underneath the train catching on fire. Returned to 'spare' or 'available' on 30th January 2006.
- ^ Originally from unit 442413. This vehicle has recently been overhauled. 442418 is currently in store at Eastleigh and has regained its correct DTS vehicle 77423.
- ^ Unnamed by Sally Taylor (BBC South Today Presenter) on 9th January 2007.
- ^ Unit withdrawn as it broke down on 15th January 2006 on its way to Bournemouth, returned to service on 22nd.
- ^ Unit repainted at Ilford Works; delivered to Lovers Walk depot for examination by Southern.
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