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British Rail Class 445 and 446
4PEP unit No.4002 in the sidings at Wimbledon depot
In service1971-1980
ManufacturerBREL
Order no.
  • 30818 (DMSO, 445, 446)
  • 30819 (MSO, 445)[1]
Built atBREL York
Family name1972 design (PEP)[2]
Constructed1971
Entered service1973[1]
Number built
  • 2 × 4-car (445)
  • 1 × 2-car (446)
Number scrappedAll
Formation2/4 cars per trainset:
  • DMSO+MSO+MSO+DMSO (445)
  • DMSO+DMSO (446)
Diagram
  • 861 (DMSO, 445, 446)
  • 862 (MSO, 445)[1]
Design code
  • PEP
Fleet numbers
  • 4001-4002 (445, set)
  • 2001 (446, set)
  • 64300-64305 (DMSO, 445, 446)
  • 62426-62429 (MSO, 445)
Capacity
  • 280 (445)
  • 136 (446)
  • 68S (DMSO)
  • 72S (MSO)[1]
OperatorsBritish Rail
Specifications
Train length
  • 264 ft 10 in (80.72 m) (445)
  • 132 ft 5 in (40.36 m) (446)
Car length
  • 64 ft 11+1⁄2 in (19.799 m) (DMSO)
  • 65 ft 4+1⁄4 in (19.920 m) (MSO)[1]
Width9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)[1]
Height11 ft 6+1⁄2 in (3.518 m)
DoorsBi-parting sliding
Maximum speed75 mph (121 km/h)
Weight
  • 31 long tons 6 cwt (31.8 t) (DMSO, 64305)
  • 35 long tons 7 cwt (35.9 t) (DMSO, others)
  • 34 long tons 6 cwt (34.9 t) (MSO)[1]
Traction motors4 × GEC[1] (per car)
Power output4 x 100 hp (75 kW) (per car)
  • 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) (445, total)
  • 800 hp (600 kW) (446, total)
Electric system(s)750 V DC third rail
Current collector(s)Contact shoe
Bogies
  • BREL BP8 (2001)[3]
  • BREL BT5 (4001)
  • Mk6 (4002, 446)
  • F-type (64305)[1]
Braking system(s)
Coupling system
Multiple workingWithin type only
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The PEP (Prototype Electro Pneumatic Train) Stock were prototype electric multiple units used on British Rail's Southern and Scottish Regions during the 1970s and early 1980s. They were forerunners of the British Rail Second Generation electric multiple unit fleet. Three units were built, one two-car unit (2001), and two four-car units (4001/4002). Under TOPS, the driving cars were originally classified as Class 461 with the non-driving motor cars as Class 462.[1] They were later reclassified as Class 445 (4PEP) and Class 446 (2PEP).

Internal layout was for commuter services; low-backed, bus-style 2+2 seating in open saloons, wide gangways with hanging straps, and no lavatory facilities. They were the first electric multiple units designed by British Rail with electric sliding doors,[4] outside the Scottish Region. They were unable to operate with any other stock due to their new coupling system.[5] Externally, 2001 was finished in unpainted aluminium, while 4001/4002 were painted in all-over Rail Blue.[6] In passenger use, they normally operated together as a ten-car formation.

Design

On the 4-PEP units the non-driving cars were powered, similar to London Underground practice at the time, but a departure from previous British Railways designs where there had not been any 4-car units with all axles powered.[7] Also introduced for the first time was rheostatic braking with cam-controlled analogue logic, and fluorescent lighting working at 50 Hz. Interior design was open saloons with 2+2 seating, although this was not considered to be finalised until after trial running, and also included communicating doors between coaches and between units, with the driving cars having 2 pairs of sliding doors each and 3 pairs on the non-driving coaches.[7]

Passenger use

4001 at London Waterloo in July 1975

All three units were initially assigned to the South Western Division of the Southern Region, based at Wimbledon Park and Strawberry Hill. Upon arrival, they were used under an extensive testing programme prior to entering full passenger service in June 1973, on services from Waterloo to Chessington South, Hampton Court and Shepperton. In August 1973, all three units were moved to the South Eastern Division, where they worked services from Cannon Street/Charing Cross to Bromley North, Dartford and Sevenoaks. Although capable of being used as a single 10-car formation on the SED, a number of failures saw them returned to the SWD after a month.

Departmental use

After the units were withdrawn from passenger service, they continued to be used by the Research department for further tests.[8] For this purpose, the units and individual carriages were all renumbered into the departmental series. The two Class 446 power cars were teamed with a newly built pantograph trailer and became TOPS Class 920, number 920001.[5] This was then used for the development of Classes 313–315.[9] The two Class 445 four car sets became TOPS Class 935, numbered 056 and 057 in the Southern Region departmental (non-revenue earning) unit series. 056 saw little use, being stored at Wimbledon Park until June 1980, when it was transferred to the Railway Technical Centre at Derby.

Production classes

The production-run classes which are most visibly similar to the prototype Stock are the dual voltage 750 V DC / 25 kV AC Class 313, the 25 kV AC Classes 314 and 315, and the 750 V DC Classes 507 and 508. It was also planned that the rolling stock for the services through the proposed Picc-Vic tunnel, intended as Class 316, would have formed part of the PEP family.[10] However, subsequent builds have also drawn heavily on the experience gained by this stock.

The PEP units had three sets of sliding doors on each of the non-driving cars for handling dense inner-suburban traffic. However, the Class 313 and all subsequent builds, including later Mark 3-based units, have only had two sets of doors per car.

Disposal

PEP coach on the scrapline at Long Marston in 1986

All three units were finally taken out of use in the mid-1980s. None of the cars have survived; 920001 was scrapped in 1987, 056 in 1986 and 057 in 1990.

Formations

The unit formations in passenger and departmental service were:

Unit No. Class Unit Type DMSO MSO (*PTSO) MSO DMSO
Formations in Passenger Use
2001 446 2PEP 64300 - - 64305
4001 445 4PEP 64301 62427 62428 64302
4002 445 4PEP 64303 62426 62429 64304
Formations in Departmental Use
920001[11] 920 3PEP ADB975430

(ex. 64300)

ADB975431
New-build trailer 		- ADB975432

(ex. 64301)

(935) 056[11] 935 4PEP ADB975848

(ex. 64303)

ADB975845

(ex. 62427)

ADB975846

(ex. 62428)

ADB975847

(ex. 64302)

(935) 057[11] 935 4PEP ADB975844

(ex. 64305)

ADB975849

(ex. 62426)

ADB975850

(ex. 62429)

ADB975851

(ex. 64304)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Longworth 2015, pp. 40, 45, 142, 144
  2. ^ "PROTOTYPE ELECTRO PNEUMATIC TRAIN: HC Deb 23 October 1973 vol 861 cc1217-24". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 23 October 1973. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  3. ^ Bull, J. T.; Cronin, J. E. (1978). "Introducing GN Electrics". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 192 (1): 72. doi:10.1243/PIME_PROC_1978_192_008_02. ISSN 0020-3483.
  4. ^ "High Density PEP stock on Southern Region". Testing Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b "2-Pep and 4-Pep". Southern Railway E-mail Group. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  6. ^ "PEP: The commuter train of the future". Testing Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b "SR high-capacity prototype train on trial". Railway World. Vol. 32, no. 378. Shepperton: Ian Allan. November 1971. pp. 498–499.
  8. ^ Marsden 1984, p. 118
  9. ^ "Time for a PEP talk". Rail Express. No. 184. September 2011. pp. 21–25. ISSN 1362-234X.
  10. ^ Brook, Richard; Dodge, Martin (2012). Infra_MANC (PDF). CUBE Gallery. pp. 144–145. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b c Marsden 1984, p. 114

Sources

Further reading

External links

British Rail Engineering Limited 1972 EMU design
Departmental Self-propelled rail vehicles of the United Kingdom
Electric multiple units of Great Britain
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