The British Rail

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 488 are unpowered trailer sets, converted from Mark 2F

British Rail Mark 2

The Mark 2 family of railway carriages were British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops between 1964 and 1975...

 coaches 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 London Victoria railway station to Gatwick Airport.

The sets were converted from conventional locomotive-hauled coaching stock in 1983–1984, and were used in combination with Class 73

British Rail Class 73

The British Rail Class 73 is a United Kingdom model of electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from a 750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes...

 electro-diesel locomotive

Electro-diesel locomotive

An Electro-diesel locomotive is powered either from an electricity supply or by using the onboard diesel engine...

s and Class 489

British Rail Class 489

The British Rail Class 489 is a type of electrical multiple unit, specially converted for use on Gatwick Express trains, from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport....

 luggage vans. Two variations were converted: 2-car sets (containing first class accommodation) and 3-car sets (containing standard class accommodation only). They are officially formed of two subclasses. The two-car units are classified as Class 488/2 and are numbered in the range 488201–488210 and the three-car sets are Class 488/3 and are numbered 488301–19.

Operations

After privatisation, the entire Class 488 fleet passed to 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...

 franchise. One unit, 488301, was withdrawn before privatisation, following an accident at Battersea Park railway station

Battersea Park railway station

Battersea Park is a suburban railway station in the London Borough of Wandsworth, formerly known as York Road. It is situated at the junction of the South London Line and the Brighton Main Line between Victoria and...

 in 1985.

Gatwick Express

Immediately after privatisation the Class 488 fleet was used exclusively on 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...

 trains. They were painted in the Gatwick Express variation of InterCity livery. Some sets were later reliveried with Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...

 advertisements, including units 488203/04/07/08/10, 488304/05/10/14/19.

From 2000 onwards, new trains in the form of Class 460

British Rail Class 460

The British Rail Class 460 electrical multiple units were built by Alstom at Washwood Heath from 2000-01. These units are part of Alstom's "Juniper" family of units, which also includes Classes 334 and 458...

 units were introduced to replace the old stock. By 2004 just six sets, formed into three 5-car rakes, were still in use with Gatwick Express. By January 2005 this had decreased to four sets. The sets were used sporadically during early 2005 but their use declined as the Class 460 reliability improved. Their final scheduled use was on 28 July following a special trip involving the two remaining Class 73 locomotives. They were replaced by two Class 458

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:...

 units hired from 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...

. They were used a few times after this date for emergency cover, but have now been withdrawn.

Network Rail

After retirement from Gatwick Express several sets were purchased by Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 for use as test trains or simply as brake-force runners. These sets have been repainted into either the now obsolete Railtrack

Railtrack

Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

 blue/lime green livery or the new Network Rail yellow livery. Two sets, 8307 and 8309, have been reclassified as Class 910

British Rail Class 910

The Class 910 designation is used by Network Rail for a fleet of former Class 488 Gatwick Express trailer sets, now used as Brake-force runner sets in departmental service.Current unit details are shown below....

departmental units and renumbered 910002 and 910001 respectively. In addition two coaches have been converted for departmental use with Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

:

• 72503 (ex 488204) - converted to hot-box detection coach no. 977983
• 72715 (ex 488316) - converted to structure-gauging train coach no. 977985

Northern Ireland Railways

In 2001 eight carriages were sold to Northern Ireland Railways

Northern Ireland Railways

NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...

 for further use as locomotive-hauled stock in combination with the 111 Class locomotive, and renumbered 8941 to 8948.

• 72605 (ex 488305) - renumbered 8943
• 72609 (ex 488305) - renumbered 8944
• 72626 (ex 488314) - renumbered 8945
• 72627 (ex 488314) - renumbered 8946
• 72634 (ex 488318) - renumbered 8941
• 72637 (ex 488318) - renumbered 8942
• 72646 (ex 488319) - renumbered 8947
• 72647 (ex 488319) - renumbered 8948

The NIR coaches were withdrawn on 19 January 2005, but were re-introduced to provide extra capacity on the Portadown to Belfast (Central) service, making one trip every morning. (Coaches 943+944 have not re-entered service and are being used for parts) In 2009 the locomotives and coaches will be converted to push-pull

Push-pull train

Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...

 operation following the purchase by NIR of a DBSO

Driving Brake Standard Open

A Driving Brake Standard Open or DBSO is a type of railway carriage, converted to operate as a control car. Fourteen such vehicles, numbered 9701 to 9714, were converted from Mk. 2F Brake Standard Open carriages. Modifications included adding a driving cab and TDM equipment to allow a locomotive...

 from 'one' (Now National Express East Anglia).

Ministry of Defence

• 488210 has been sold to the Ministry of Defence
  Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
  The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
  
   for use at Marchwood
  Marchwood
  Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water, next to the New Forest. The population of the village in the 2001 census was 5,586.-History:...
  
   in 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...
  
  . It has replaced two former Class 501
  British Rail Class 501
  The British Rail Class 501 electric multiple units were built in 1957/58 for use on the former LNWR/LMS suburban electric network of the London Midland Region...
  
   vehicles as passenger vehicles for personnel movement around the site.

Preservation

Several complete sets have been preserved. These are listed below.

• 488202 - Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
  Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
  The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a long heritage railway in Derbyshire, the headquarters of the railway centre around Wirksworth station and services operate between Wirksworth and Duffield and Wirksworth and Ravenstor...
  
  
• 488206 - Vale of Glamorgan Railway
  Vale of Glamorgan Railway
  The Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales...
  
  
• 488304 - Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre
  Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre
  The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre is a heritage centre based at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, the terminus of the northern section of the Great Central Railway . The site includes locomotive and rolling stock workshops , as well as cafeteria and shops...
  
  
• 488310 - Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre
  Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre
  The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre is a heritage centre based at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, the terminus of the northern section of the Great Central Railway . The site includes locomotive and rolling stock workshops , as well as cafeteria and shops...
  
  
• 488311 - Barry Island Railway

Fleet status

Key:	In service	Withdrawn	Preserved	Departmental Use	Further Use	Scrapped

Class 488/2

Unit No.	Vehicle Numbers				Livery	Operator	Withdrawn	Status
	TFOH		TSOH
488201	72500	ex 3413	72638	ex 6068	Gatwick Express	Cotswold Rail	2002	Scrapped (2004)
488202	72501	ex 3382	72617	ex 6086	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2005	Preserved
488203	72502	ex 3321	72640	ex 6097	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Network Rail	2002	Stored
488204	72503	ex 3407	72641	ex 6079	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Network Rail	2002	Stored
488205	72504	ex 3406	72628	ex 6058	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2002	Scrapped (2003)
488206	72505	ex 3415	72629	ex 6048	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2005	Preserved
488207	72506	ex 3335	72642	ex 6076	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Cotswold Rail	2002	Scrapped (2004)
488208	72507	ex 3412	72643	ex 6040	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	GB Railfreight	2002	Sent for Scrap 29/04/09
488209	72508	ex 3409	72644	ex 6039	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2004	Sold to New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... -based Main Line Steam Trust Railway
488210	72509	ex 3398	72635	ex 6128	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2002	Sold to MoD Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....  Marchwood Marchwood Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water, next to the New Forest. The population of the village in the 2001 census was 5,586.-History:...

Class 488/3

Unit No.	Vehicle Numbers						Livery	Operator	Withdrawn	Status
	TSOLH		TSOL		TSOLH
488301	72600	ex-6125	72700	ex-6131	72601	ex-6133	InterCity	British Rail	1985	Scrapped (1987)
488302	72602	ex 6130	72701	ex 6088	72604	ex 6087	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2003	Scrapped (2003)
488303	72603	ex 6093	72702	ex 6099	72608	ex 6077	Gatwick Express	Network Rail	2002	Stored
488304	72606	ex 6084	72703	ex 6075	72611	ex 6083	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2002	Preserved
488305	72605	ex 6082	72704	ex 6132	72609	ex 6080	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Gatwick Express	2002	Sold to Northern Ireland Railways Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
488306	72607	ex 6020	72705	ex 6032	72610	ex 6074	Gatwick Express	Cotswold Rail	2002	Scrapped (2004)
488307	72612	ex 6156	72706	ex 6143	72613	ex 6126	Railtrack Blue/Green	Network Rail	2004	Renumbered 910002 British Rail Class 910 The Class 910 designation is used by Network Rail for a fleet of former Class 488 Gatwick Express trailer sets, now used as Brake-force runner sets in departmental service.Current unit details are shown below....
488308	72614	ex 6090	72707	ex 6127	72615	ex 5938	Railtrack Blue/Green	Network Rail	-	In service
488309	72616	ex 6007	72708	ex 6095	72639	ex 6070	Railtrack Blue/Green	Network Rail	2004	Renumbered 910001 British Rail Class 910 The Class 910 designation is used by Network Rail for a fleet of former Class 488 Gatwick Express trailer sets, now used as Brake-force runner sets in departmental service.Current unit details are shown below....
488310	72618	ex 6044	72709	ex 5982	72619	ex 5909	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2002	Preserved
488311	72620	ex 6140	72710	ex 6003	72621	ex 6108	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2005	Preserved
488312	72622	ex 6004	72711	ex 6109	72623	ex 6118	Gatwick Express	GB Railfreight	2002	Sent for scrap 29/04/09
488313	72624	ex 5972	72712	ex 6091	72625	ex 6085	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2004	Sold to New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... -based Main Line Steam Trust Railway
488314	72626	ex 6017	72713	ex 6023	72627	ex 5974	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Gatwick Express	2002	Sold to Northern Ireland Railways Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
488315	72636	ex 6071	72714	ex 6092	72645	ex 5942	Gatwick Express	GB Railfreight	2002	Sent for scrap 29/04/09
488316	72630	ex 6094	72715	ex 6019	72631	ex 6096	Railtrack Blue/Green	Network Rail	-	In service
488317	72632	ex 6072	72716	ex 6114	72633	ex 6129	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2003	Sent for scrap
488318	72634	ex 6089	72717	ex 6069	72637	ex 6098	Gatwick Express	Gatwick Express	2002	Sold to Northern Ireland Railways Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
488319	72646	ex 6078	72718	ex 5979	72647	ex 6081	Gatwick Express (Advertising)	Gatwick Express	2002	Sold to Northern Ireland Railways Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...