SR Class 2SL
Encyclopedia
The Southern Railway gave the designation 2-SL to the small fleet of electric multiple unit
s dedicated for use on the South London lines. None of these units survived long enough in British Rail
ownership to be allocated a TOPS
class.
AC electric SL
stock. They were intended for use on the South London lines. Originally these units had some First Class accommodation in the Driving Trailer car, but this was later declassified to Third Class only. The units were numbered 1901–1908 before 1936, when those numbers were reused for new 2-BIL
units. At the same time, 4-SUB
unit number 1801 was renumbered 1600.
air raid). All were subsequently scrapped.
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s dedicated for use on the South London lines. None of these units survived long enough in 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...
ownership to be allocated a TOPS
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
class.
Construction
The 2-SL (2-car South London stock, numbers 1801–1808) units were rebuilt in 1929 from the Driving Motor cars originally used in ex-LBSCRLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
AC electric SL
SR Class SL
The Southern Railway gave the designation SL to the fleet of AC overhead electric multiple units used on the South London Line. These had been built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1909, but with the abandonment of the Elevated Electric service in 1928 they were converted to DC...
stock. They were intended for use on the South London lines. Originally these units had some First Class accommodation in the Driving Trailer car, but this was later declassified to Third Class only. The units were numbered 1901–1908 before 1936, when those numbers were reused for new 2-BIL
British Rail Class 401
The Southern Railway gave the designation 2-BIL to the DC third rail electric multiple units built during the 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London to Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Reading...
units. At the same time, 4-SUB
British Rail Class 405
Under the British Rail TOPS computer system, Class 415 was allocated to surviving examples of the Southern Railway 4-Sub Class electric multiple units built between 1941 and 1951...
unit number 1801 was renumbered 1600.
Formations
Initial formations of these units were as follows:| Unit Numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1901–1908 / 1801–1808 | 8723–8730 | 9751–9758 |
Withdrawal
The majority of these units were withdrawn in 1954, the exceptions being 1802 (in 1951) and 1807 (destroyed in 1940 during a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
air raid). All were subsequently scrapped.