British Rail Class 442
Encyclopedia
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 442 Wessex Electric (or 5WES) electrical multiple units were introduced in 1988 on the South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
from London Waterloo to Southampton Central
Southampton Central railway station
Southampton Central railway station is a main line railway station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, the South Western Main Line and the West Coastway Line...
, Bournemouth
Bournemouth railway station
Bournemouth railway station, originally known as Bournemouth East and then Bournemouth Central , is the main railway station serving the town of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth...
, Poole
Poole railway station
thumb|right|Down stopping train in 1958Poole railway station is a railway station on the South Western Main Line serving the town of Poole in Dorset, England. The station is situated in the town centre next to Holes Bay...
and Weymouth
Weymouth railway station
Weymouth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is the terminus of both the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo and the Heart of Wessex Line from and .-History:...
. Twenty-four of these 5-car units were built in 1988/89 by BREL
BREL
British Rail Engineering Limited , was the railway systems engineering division of British Rail, until the design and building of trains in the UK was privatised in 1993. On 31 October 1969, the company was incorporated as British Rail Engineering Limited.-Main products:The vast majority of BREL's...
at its Derby works
Derby Carriage and Wagon Works
Derby Carriage and Wagon Works was built by the Midland Railway in Derby, England. The plant has been through many changes of ownership and is currently owned by Bombardier Transportation, a subsidiary of Bombardier Inc. of Canada. As of 2011 it is the only remaining passenger rolling stock...
. Their introduction coincided with the completion of electrification from Bournemouth to Weymouth. The entire fleet was operated by South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
up until February 2007, when the Class 442 services were replaced by Class 444
British Rail Class 444
The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....
and Class 450
British Rail Class 450
The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family and are more commonly known as the 'Blue Desiro'...
Desiros.
Since 2008 Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
has been refurbishing the units for the Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express is the name given to the frequent rail shuttle service between Victoria station in London and Gatwick Airport in South East England, operated by the Southern franchise...
service from Brighton
Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. The station master is Mark Epsom...
to Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport railway station
Gatwick Airport station is the railway station at London Gatwick Airport that provides a direct rail connection to London 43 km away. The station platforms are located directly below the airport’s South Terminal, and the ticket office is adjacent to that terminal’s concourse...
and London Victoria. The Southern refurbishment and overhaul programme will be complete for the December 2010 timetable with all 24 units expected to be in service with Gatwick Express and other Brighton Mainline routes.
The class holds the world speed record
Land speed record for railed vehicles
Determination of the fastest rail vehicle in the world varies depending on the definition of "rail".Official absolute world record for conventional train is held by the French TGV...
for a third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
train with 174 km/h (108.1 mph), attained on 11 April 1988.
Description
The Class 442 Wessex Electric is based on the British Rail Mark 3British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
carriage bodyshell, and has a number of features which distinguish it from the slam-door units it replaced:
- Vehicle length is 23 m (75.5 ft), as opposed to 20 m (65.6 ft).
- All vehicles are air-conditioned, and have powered internal doors and external plug doorPlug doorA plug door is a door designed to seal itself by taking advantage of pressure difference on its two sides and is typically used on pressurised aircraft...
s. - Units consist of five 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 (44.7 m/s).
As was common on the British Rail Southern Region
Southern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...
, many electrical components – including traction motors and electrical control gear – were salvaged from the Class 432
British Rail Class 432
The British Rail 4-REP electric multiple units were built by BR at York Works from 1966-1967 and 1974. The units were built to power the 4-TC trailer units on services on the South Western Main Line. Fifteen four-car units were eventually built. The motor coaches were new build, but the trailers...
units they replaced. For this reason the older 4REP
British Rail Class 432
The British Rail 4-REP electric multiple units were built by BR at York Works from 1966-1967 and 1974. The units were built to power the 4-TC trailer units on services on the South Western Main Line. Fifteen four-car units were eventually built. The motor coaches were new build, but the trailers...
and 4TC
British Rail Class 438
The British Rail TC multiple units were un-powered fixed formations of 3 or 4 carriages with a driving position at each end of the set, converted by BR at York Works from locomotive-hauled Mark 1 carriages in 1966-1967 and 1974. The units built on experience gained from the prototype 6TC unit...
units had to be withdrawn before their replacements were built.
The Class 442 "Wessex Electric" was one of the first types to make extensive use of plastics in construction, earning them the nickname among staff and rail enthusiasts
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
of "Pigs" or "Piggies". When they were first introduced the units were plagued by minor technical failures, but they 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.
The increased top speed of the Class 442, combined with timetable changes, resulted in some minor journey time improvements, for example a non-stop service reaching Southampton Airport Parkway from London Waterloo in 58 minutes, over a journey of around 70 miles (112.7 km). The timetable change of December 2004 meant that the down non-stop train from London Waterloo took an hour to reach Winchester
Winchester railway station
Winchester railway station is a railway station located in Winchester in the county of Hampshire in England. It is located on the South Western Main Line and was originally known as Winchester City to distinguish it from Winchester station....
.
The units were initially used solely on the Weymouth line, but through the 1990s began to be used on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
direct line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...
. Upon privatisation the whole fleet passed to the South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
franchise. Unit 442402 soon had an orange stripe added to its Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
livery, which looked very similar to Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
's corporate image. From 1998 the units began to receive the new South West Trains Express livery of white, red and blue as they underwent overhaul at Crewe Works
Crewe Works
Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
. Unit 442404 was the first to be so treated.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s the fleet continued to operate express services from London to Weymouth and Portsmouth. However in 2004, when the Class 444 "Desiro"
British Rail Class 444
The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....
trains had been brought into service, the "Wessex Electrics" were again used solely on the Weymouth line.
In early 2006 the fleet began to receive overhauls, with units emerging in a slightly revised livery which conformed with the Disability Discrimination Act
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...
. By January 2007 14 of the 24 units had received overhauls.
Withdrawal by South West Trains
Despite their recent overhauls, South West Trains withdrew the entire fleet in 2007. They have now been replaced on their duties by Class 444sBritish Rail Class 444
The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....
, which were in turn replaced on their duties by Class 450s
British Rail Class 450
The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family and are more commonly known as the 'Blue Desiro'...
spare from the re-introduction of Class 458s
British Rail Class 458
The South West Trains Class 458 electrical multiple units were built by Alstom at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002. These units are part of Alstom's Juniper family of units, which also includes Classes 334 and 460.-Description:...
into traffic after modifications to their destination displays.
The last class 442 Weymouth to London Waterloo operation was on 24 January 2007 with the final service on 3 February 2007. The lease expired on 4 February 2007 at 0200. The units were moved from Bournemouth Traincare Depot to Eastleigh Works
Eastleigh Works
Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh in the county of Hampshire in England.-History under the LSWR:...
for warm storage.
Leasing by Southern
SouthernSouthern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
is leasing 17 of these units to operate the extended Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express is the name given to the frequent rail shuttle service between Victoria station in London and Gatwick Airport in South East England, operated by the Southern franchise...
service which commenced during December 2008 that it is responsible for. Once all units are refurbished and repainted into Gatwick Express livery, they are expected to run in pairs capable of carrying 600 passengers. However some units are to be kept out of service for spare parts. In October 2008 unit 442414 became the first unit to be fully refurbished inside and out, with 442412 and 442421 following shortly afterwards.
The new extended Gatwick Express service was introduced on 15 December 2008. The new service, operating Monday to Friday, comprises six services in the morning from Brighton and six services to Brighton in the evening with an additional service terminating at Haywards Heath.
In April 2009 Southern took an extra two units from Eastleigh Works to make up for the shortfall in units caused by the units being used on other services. The 07:14 Eastbourne to London Bridge service, and on a new 18:22 London Bridge to Eastbourne service, although these services are in Gatwick Express livery, they do not stop at Gatwick Airport. For a short time the 06:24 Eastbourne to London Bridge service was also ran as a 10 coach 442. but was shortly replaced with class 377 rolling stock used on a Brighton to London Victoria service.
In the summer of 2011, a Saturday only service will run between 11 June and 3 September from Eastbourne running non-stop to London Bridge in the morning and a non-stop return journey in the evening. The northbound journey taking 90 minutes and the southbound journey taking 2 hours and 8 minutes. This service is mainly for the student groups staying in the Eastbourne area taking a day trip to London. In previous years this service was run into London Victoria station.
When Govia retained the Southern Franchise, it was announced that the off lease 442s would come back into use with heavy work being required as the units have not been maintained. 442409 will require an exceptional amount of work as it has been used as a donor for spare parts.
Fleet details
Units are numbered 442401–424 and are formed of two outer driving trailers, two intermediate trailers, and an intermediate motor vehicle. In accordance with Southern RegionSouthern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...
practice, the units only carried the last four digits of their unit numbers when in service with South West Trains. Units refurbished for Southern now carry the full six digits.
Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:
- 77382–77405 - DTS - Driving Trailer Standard (formally DTFo (Driving Trailer First Semi-open) )
- 71818–71841 - TSO - Trailer Standard Open
- 62937–62960 - MLC - Motor Luggage Composite (formally MBLS (Motor Buffet Lounge Standard) )
- 71842–71865 - TSW - Trailer Standard Wheelchair
- 77406–77429 - DTS - Driving Trailer Standard
The motor buffet vehicles were all modernised in a works programme at Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
in 1997/98. At the same time units were repainted from their original Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
livery into South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
' Express livery. During 2006 South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
sent some units to Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
at Ilford, where the livery was modified to make it Disability Discrimination Act
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...
friendly; however, not all trains were modified as it was later announced that the trains were to be withdrawn from service. In 2008, units started to go to Wolverton works
Wolverton railway works
Wolverton railway works was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 mile-long route from London to Birmingham...
for refurbishment. The refurbishment included the removal of the buffet from the motor coach, all new seats, and the removal of first class from the front of the train to the motor coach. Door controls were also placed in the driving cabs so doors could be released and closed by the driver, although Gatwick Express intends on only using this for door release.
The description of this formation is DTS+TSO+MLC+TSW+DTS.
During the years of Network SouthEast and South West Trains various units have received names. Most of these were towns or places along the routes that they worked, but a few were for publicity purposes. When the South West Trains lease expired all nameplates were removed.
The complete fleet list is shown below, with details of vehicle numbers, former names and livery.
| Location Key: | In service | Stewarts Lane for Commissioning | Wolverton Works Wolverton railway works Wolverton railway works was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 mile-long route from London to Birmingham... for C6 Overhaul |
| Unit number | Former name (Removed after the South West Trains lease expired) |
Livery | Individual coach numbers | Date withdrawn (SWT) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTS | TSO | MLC | TSW | DTS | ||||
| 442401 | Beaulieu Beaulieu, Hampshire Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :... |
Gatwick Express | 77382 | 71818 | 62937 | 71842 | 77406 | 22/01/2007 |
| 442402 | County of Hampshire Hampshire Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force... |
Gatwick Express | 77383 | 71819 | 62938 | 71843 | 77407 | 16/02/2007 |
| 442403 | The New Forest New Forest The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire.... |
Gatwick Express | 77384 | 71820 | 62941 | 71844 | 77408 | 17/01/2007 |
| 442404 | Borough of Woking Woking Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station.... |
Gatwick Express | 77385 | 71821 | 62939 | 71845 | 77409 | 15/01/2007 |
| 442405 | City of Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... |
Gatwick Express | 77386 | 71822 | 62944 | 71845 | 77410 | 15/02/2007 |
| 442406 | Victory HMS Victory HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.... |
Gatwick Express | 77389 | 71823 | 62942 | 71847 | 77411 | 15/01/2007 |
| 442407 | Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a... |
Gatwick Express | 77388 | 71824 | 62943 | 71848 | 77412 | 22/01/2007 |
| 442408 | County of Dorset Dorset Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974... |
Gatwick Express | 77387 | 71825 | 62945 | 71849 | 77413 | 17/01/2007 |
| 442409 | Bournemouth Orchestras Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979.... |
Gatwick Express | 77390 | 71826 | 62946 | 71850 | 77414 | 12/01/2007 |
| 442410 | Meridian Tonight Meridian Broadcasting Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.... |
Gatwick Express | 77391 | 71827 | 62948 | 71851 | 77415 | 24/01/2007 |
| 442411 | The Railway Children Railway Children (charity) For other uses see, The Railway Children Disambiguation PageThe Railway Children is a charity based in Cheshire, England that aims to help runaway children and street children throughout the World, particularly those who live around railway stations.... |
Gatwick Express | 77392 | 71828 | 62940 | 71858 | 77422 | 29/01/2007 |
| 442412 | Special Olympics Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries.... |
Gatwick Express | 77393 | 71829 | 62947 | 71853 | 77417 | 12/02/2007 |
| 442413 | Gatwick Express | 77394 | 71830 | 62949 | 71854 | 77418 | 02/02/2007 | |
| 442414 | Gatwick Express | 77395 | 71831 | 62950 | 71855 | 77419 | 24/01/2007 | |
| 442415 | Mary Rose Mary Rose The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a... |
Gatwick Express | 77396 | 71832 | 62951 | 71856 | 77420 | 10/11/2006 |
| 442416 | Mum in a Million 1997 - Doreen Scanlon | Gatwick Express | 77397 | 71833 | 62952 | 71857 | 77421 | 31/12/2006 |
| 442417 | Woking Homes Woking Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station.... |
Gatwick Express | 77398 | 71834 | 62953 | 71852 | 77416 | 19/01/2007 |
| 442418 | Wessex Cancer Trust | Gatwick Express | 77399 | 71835 | 62954 | 71859 | 77423 | 24/01/2007 |
| 442419 | BBC South Today | Gatwick Express | 77400 | 71836 | 62955 | 71860 | 77424 | 12/02/2007 |
| 442420 | City of Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
Gatwick Express | 77401 | 71837 | 62956 | 71861 | 77425 | 12/01/2007 |
| 442421 | Gatwick Express | 77402 | 71838 | 62957 | 71862 | 77426 | 26/01/2007 | |
| 442422 | Operation Overlord Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings... |
Gatwick Express | 77403 | 71839 | 62958 | 71863 | 77427 | 11/01/2007 |
| 442423 | County of Surrey Surrey Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of... |
Gatwick Express | 77404 | 71840 | 62959 | 71864 | 77428 | 18/04/2007 |
| 442424 | Gerry Newson | Gatwick Express | 77405 | 71841 | 62960 | 71865 | 77429 | 22/01/2007 |
