British Rail Class 508
Merseyrail Class 508 at Hightown
The interior of a Merseyrail-refurbished Class 508 unit
In service17 December 1979 – present
ManufacturerBritish Rail Engineering Limited
Order no.
  • 30979 (DMSO vehicles)
  • 30980 (TSO vehicles)
  • 30981 (BDMSO vehicles)[1]
Built atHolgate Road Works, York
Family nameBREL 1972
ReplacedClass 503
Constructed1979–1980
Refurbished
Number built43
Number in service5
Number scrapped33
Successor
Formation
  • As built, 4 cars per unit:
  • DMSO-TSO-TSO-BDMSO
  • After 3-car conversion:
  • DMSO-TSO-BDMSO[1]
Diagram
  • DMSO vehicles: EA208
  • TSO vehicles: EH218
  • BDMSO vehicles: EI203[1]
Design code4PER[3]
Fleet numbers
  • 508/0: 508001–508043
  • 508/1: 508101–508143
  • 508/2: 508201–508212[4]
Capacity
  • As built: 320 seats
  • As three-car: 234 seats
  • Three-car modified: 222 seats
  • 508/2 units: 219 seats
  • As refurbished: 192 seats
OwnersAngel Trains[5]
Operators
Depots
Lines served
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel underframe and body frame, aluminium body and roof
Car length
  • DM vehs.: 19.800 m (64 ft 11.5 in)
  • Trailers: 19.920 m (65 ft 4.3 in)
Width2.820 m (9 ft 3.0 in)
Height3.582 m (11 ft 9.0 in)
Floor height1.146 m (3 ft 9.1 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf pocket sliding, each 1.288 m (4 ft 2.7 in) wide (2 per side per car)
WheelbaseOver bogie centres:
14.170 m (46 ft 5.9 in)
Maximum speed75 mph (120 km/h)
Weight
  • DMSO vehicles: 36.15 t (35.58 LT; 39.85 ST)
  • TSO vehicles: 26.72 t (26.30 LT; 29.45 ST)
  • BDMSO vehicles: 36.61 t (36.03 LT; 40.36 ST)[1]
Traction motors
  • 8 × GEC G310AZ
  • or 8 × Brush TM61-53
  • (82 kW (110 hp) each, 4 per motor car)
Power output656 kW (880 hp)
HVACElectric heating (ducted warm air)
Electric system(s)750–850 V DC third rail[1]
Current collector(s)Contact shoe
UIC classificationBo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
BogiesBREL BX1
Minimum turning radius70.4 m (231 ft 0 in)
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic (disc) and rheostatic[1][4]
Safety system(s)
Coupling systemTightlock
Multiple working
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Specifications as at August 1982[8] except where otherwise noted. The additional TSO vehicles, removed as part of three-car conversion, were inserted into Class 455/7 units.[1]

The British Rail Class 508 (4PER) is a type of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited, at Holgate Road carriage works, York, in 1979 and 1980. They are a variant of British Rail's standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes (313/314/315/507/508).[9] They have worked mostly on the Merseyrail network since 1983 and continue to do so, having been refurbished by Alstom's Eastleigh Works. The Class 508 unit is now 44 years old.

Description

The class was developed for Merseyside, following extensive trials and testing of the 4Pep/2Pep stock that was built in the early 1970s. Testing of Class 313 took place on the Northern line on Merseyside, using 313013/063[10] which were loaned from the Great Northern Line of the Eastern Region[6] to Hall Road TMD. Original plans were drawn up for 58 Class 508s to be constructed,[6] although costing issues limited the eventual number to 43. Following planning and building, British Rail diverted the 508s to work alongside much older first-generation 4Sub EMUs in the London Waterloo area. The first unit was delivered to Strawberry Hill depot on 9 August 1979.[6] Based at Wimbledon Traincare Depot, they soon became problematic due to their non-standard dimensions and brake problems caused by leaf fall.[6][11]

Once a new build of Class 455 EMUs was completed, the Class 508s were sent slowly to their originally intended home on the Merseyrail network. Driver training began at Kirkdale on 17 February 1982[6] and the first Class 508 began service on the Northern line the following month.[6] The first Wirral line service commenced on 8 June 1984[6] and the Class 508s had completely displaced the Class 503 fleet by the end of March 1985.[6] The fleet was then working in parallel with the already well-established fleet of Class 507 EMUs across the River Mersey, which had been working on Merseyside since 1978.

Current operations

Merseyrail

Merseyrail operates 25 508s, which are used interchangeably between the Northern and Wirral lines. They commonly work the following services:

Merseyrail's fleet of Class 508 units are primarily maintained at Birkenhead North TMD, with minor maintenance being undertaken at Kirkdale TMD. The units, when out of service, have stabling points at various sidings around the Merseyrail network. These can be found at the station termini and the depots, as well as at Rock Ferry station and Birkenhead North station.

A farewell tour for the Class 508 operated using units 508139 and 508141 took place on October 29 2023.[12]

Past operations

Southeastern

Connex South Eastern leased twelve Class 508s freed up by capacity reductions on Merseyrail services in 1996, for operation on specific Kent services that would replace slam-door 4CEP units.[13] They were refurbished at Eastleigh Works, including the installation of 2+2 seating and wheel-in cycle racks in the centre cars, and reclassified as the Class 508/2 (508201-212).[14] Their main duties included London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood to Strood, Maidstone West to Three Bridges and Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea, as well as Grove Park to Bromley North for a short period. Units were based at Gillingham Depot.

Due to their comfort and ride quality, alongside the lack of toilets and first class facilities, which were felt as a downgrade from the slam-door units they replaced, the Class 508s were unpopular with passengers. In 2005, one unit was refurbished by interim operator South Eastern Trains to improve external appearances, with a black, white and yellow livery.

In September 2006 new operator Southeastern announced that a cascade of rolling stock would see Class 466 units replace the 508s on the Sheerness and Medway Valley lines in the December 2006 timetable.[15] Following this timetable change, the fleet's diagrams were reduced to six serviceable units, resulting in five sets being placed in "warm store" at Chart Leacon TMD, and one unit was cannibalised. With the transfer of the Tonbridge to London via Redhill services to Southern, Southeastern placed its remaining Class 508 units in store in December 2008.[16]

Network Rail's Route Utilisation Strategy for Merseyside has called for an expansion to Merseyrail's current fleet to allow for both additional services and lengthening of trains to six cars. In December 2009 it was reported by various sources that the former Southeastern and London Overground units would be transferred to Merseyrail.[17][18]

Silverlink/London Overground

Silverlink leased three 508/0s in 2003 for operation on the Watford DC Line to assist its fleet of Class 313 EMUs.[7] They were modified to make them inter-operable with 313s and were reclassified as Class 508/3.[7] These were withdrawn following the delivery of Class 378 Capitalstar units, and the 508/3s were scrapped in 2013.[7]

Replacement

On 14 May 2012, Merseytravel announced that it was beginning a project for replacement of the 508s and 507s.[19][20] The lease on the Class 507s and 508s had been extended to 2018. As part of the agreement with Angel Trains, the fleet received a refresh package including external re-livery, internal enhancements and engineering work.[21]

On 11 January 2016, Merseytravel announced the short list of companies bidding to build new trains which will replace the Class 507 and Class 508s on the Merseyrail network.[19] In December 2016, Merseytravel announced that Stadler had won the £460 million contract and that the new Class 777 trains were to be delivered from summer 2019 with all the old trains replaced by 2021.[22] The first unit entered service late in January 2023.[23]

Accidents and incidents

On 21 April 1982, unit 508031 was running the 06:34 service from London Waterloo crashed at Shepperton, demolishing barriers and a wall. The train also slid into some new pedestrian crossing lights, rendering them unusable. The crash was initially believed to be the result of braking tests the previous night, which involved applying grease to the tracks, and that the grease may not have been sufficiently cleaned off. It was later found that the train's brakes were faulty.[24]

In 1987, a Class 508 unit collided with the buffer stop at Kirkby.[25]

On 26 October 2005, unit 508124, forming 2W43 17:06 West Kirby return via Liverpool Lime Street, derailed 200 m (660 ft) short of Liverpool Central, caused by track gauge widening due to poor track condition. There were no serious injuries. The RAIB report[26] cited incompatibility between Class 508 (and 507) EMUs and the Liverpool Loop track as a causal factor, along with maintenance and other track design concerns.

On 6 March 2007, a Class 508/3 unit, forming the 05:00 Tonbridge to Gatwick Airport, derailed near Crowhurst, Surrey, after hitting a fallen tree on the line. None of the eight people on board were hurt.[27]

Fleet details

A Class 508 DMSO vehicle converted for use as a translator coach
Class Operator Qty. Year built Cars per unit Unit nos. Notes
508/1 Merseyrail 5 1979–1980 3 508104, 508108, 508114, 508120, 508131[28][29] Converted from 508/0 in 1984–1985[2]
Scrapped 22 508103, 508110–508112, 508115, 508117, 508122–508128, 508130, 508134, 508136–508141, 508143[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
508/2 Scrapped 8 508201–508206, 508208–508211[note 1] Converted from 508/1 in 1998[2]
Other 2 508207,[note 2] 508212[note 3]
508/3 Scrapped 3 508301–508303 Converted from 508/1 in 2002–2003[2]

Vehicle numbering

Individual vehicles are numbered in the following ranges:[2]

DMSO TSO BDMSO
64649–64691 71483–71525 64692–64734

The TSO vehicles transferred into the Class 455/7 fleet were numbered in the range 71526–71568.[2]

Liveries

A Class 508 in as-delivered BR livery at Hampton Court, near London, in 1984.

Class 508 units have appeared in a large number of liveries:

  • British Rail blue and grey, 1979 –circa 1997
  • Original Merseyrail, 1992 – circa 2004
  • Connex yellow and white, 1996–2006.
  • Merseyrail revised, 2000–2004.
  • Merseyrail refurbished, 2003–2015; silver, with vertical curved yellow stripes at the cab ends, and yellow passenger doors.[2]
  • Silverlink Metro, 2003–2007; purple, green and yellow, applied when they were modified in 2003.[2] Adhesive labels marked "London Overground" were applied when the fleet was transferred to that operator.
  • South Eastern Trains, 2005–2006; white and grey with a black window band and yellow doors.[2]
  • Southeastern, 2006–2008; white and grey with a black window band and lilac/blue doors, similar to that carried by the Class 465/466 fleet.[2]
  • Merseyrail – Capital of Culture, 2008–2009; four units with graphics overlaid on the Merseyrail refurbished livery.[40]
  • Merseyrail – The Beatles Story, October 2011-2023 (508111 only); text and graphics on a blue background advertising The Beatles Story exhibition at the Albert Dock in Liverpool.[41]
  • Merseyrail – Good Communications, January 2014 onwards; six different designs on a mix of yellow and grey backgrounds.[42][43]

Named units

Named units were as follows:[44]

Notes

  1. ↑ Trailer vehicle 64649 from 508201 and trailer vehicle 74712 from 508209, are at the Emergency Services Training Centre Seacombe.[39]
  2. ↑ Trailer vehicles 64664 and 64707 were converted for use Trains as translator coaches.[39]
  3. ↑ At the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh.[39]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fox, P. (1994). British Railways Pocket Book No. 4: Electric Multiple Units (7th ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-872524-60-3. OCLC 655645349.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Marsden, C. J. (2007). Traction Recognition. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 228, 248–251. ISBN 978-0-7110-3277-4. OCLC 230804946. OL 16902750M.
  3. ↑ Marsden, C. J. (1982). EMUs. Motive Power Recognition. Vol. 2. London: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 4, 6. ISBN 978-0-7110-1165-6. OCLC 16537600.
  4. 1 2 "Class 508". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ Sherratt, Philip, ed. (2023). "ROSCO Fleets". Modern Railways: Review 2023. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-80282-569-5.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Maund, T. B. (2001). Merseyrail Electrics: The Inside Story. NBC Books. pp. 78, 82, 85. OCLC 655126526.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Llewelyn, Hugh (2016). EMUs: A History. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. pp. 520–521. ISBN 978-1-4456-4983-2. OCLC 1064706206.
  8. ↑ Vehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electric Multiple Units (including A.P.T.) (PDF). Derby: Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Department, British Railways Board. August 1982. EA208, EH218, EI203 (in work pp. 18–19, 290–291, 390–391). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Barrowmore MRG.
  9. ↑ "The twilight zone". Railways Illustrated. No. 249. November 2023. pp. 50–53.
  10. ↑ Cadwallader, J.; Jenkins, M. (2010). Merseyside Electrics. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7110-3417-4. OCLC 455806364.
  11. ↑ "Readers' round-up". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. February–March 1982. p. 51. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
  12. ↑ "BLS and Merseyrail operate farewell tour". Today's Railways UK. No. 262. December 2023. p. 58.
  13. ↑ "Class 508". Kent Rail. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Farewell Class 508s - The Final Months - Introduction". Southern Electric Group. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "New Southeastern timetable begins in December". 5 September 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "It's all change as new trains spark 'cascade'". Railnews. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Broadbent, Steve (December 2008). "Merseyside RUS addresses serious growth issues". Rail. No. 607. Peterborough. pp. 10–11. ISSN 0953-4563.
  18. ↑ "North Wales Coast Railway Noticeboard". Charlie Hulme. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  19. 1 2 "Another step towards new Merseyrail trains as bidder shortlist announced". Merseytravel. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Merseyrail trains to be replaced". BBC News. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  21. ↑ Hodgson, Neil (1 May 2014). "Best Merseyrail service for two years". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  22. ↑ Houghton, Alistair (16 December 2016). "Merseytravel reveals new £460m train fleet plans - with no train guards". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  23. ↑ Kirwin, Ellen; Thorp, Liam (23 January 2023). "Live updates as first new Merseyrail train finally welcomes passengers". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "The Shepperton Train Crash | Shepperton Matters". www.villagematters.co.uk. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "Buffer stop collision at Kirkby, Merseyside, 13 March 2021" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch. 11 August 2022.
  26. ↑ "Derailment near Liverpool Central underground station 26 October 2005". RAIB. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  27. ↑ "Train derails after hitting tree". BBC News. 6 March 2007. Archived from the original on 25 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  28. ↑ Clinnick, Richard (April 2023). "How the Class 777 will help transform Merseyrail". Rail Express. No. 323. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 85. ISSN 1362-234X.
  29. ↑ "Merseyrail stock taken for scrap". Rail Magazine. No. 988. 26 July 2023. p. 9.
  30. ↑ Russell, David (April 2023). "Class 508". Units. Rail Express. No. 323. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 22. ISSN 1362-234X.
  31. ↑ Russell, David (May 2023). "Class 508". Units. Rail Express. No. 324. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 21. ISSN 1362-234X.
  32. ↑ "Class 507 & 508". Units. Rail Express. No. 328. September 2023. p. 21.
  33. ↑ "Merseyrail Class 777s expand operations". Rail Express. No. 329. October 2023. p. 20.
  34. 1 2 "Naming Update". Railways Illustrated. No. 249. November 2023. p. 25.
  35. ↑ "Stock Update". The Railway Magazine. No. November 2023. p. 97.
  36. ↑ Butlin, Ashley. "Stock Update". The Railway Magazine. No. December 2023. p. 91.
  37. ↑ Pritchard, Robert (January 2024). "EMUs". Stock Changes. Today's Railways UK. No. 263. p. 62.
  38. 1 2 3 Butlin, Ashley (January 2024). "Multiplie Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 170, no. 1474. p. 81.
  39. 1 2 3 "Southern '313s' – is the end now in sight?". Rail Magazine. No. 977. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 22 February 2023. pp. 38–43.
  40. ↑ "Trains take fast track to Capital of Culture". Wirral Globe. 25 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  41. ↑ "Stewart Signs wrap The Beatles Story train for Merseytravel's ultimate Ticket to Ride!". Stewart Signs. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  42. ↑ "New Look Trains". Merseyrail. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  43. ↑ "Good Communications designs new-look Merseyrail trains". Prolific North. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  44. ↑ "The Encyclopaedia of Modern Traction Names". Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  45. ↑ "Stock Changes". Today's Railways UK. No. 260. April 2023. p. 63.
  46. ↑ "The Encyclopedia of Modern Traction Names: C". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 508.
  • Hilbert, M. (2016). Merseyrail Electric. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-78155-513-2. OCLC 931803421.
  • West, L. (26 August – 8 September 1998). "Connex '508s' go to work on Isle of Sheppey line". Rail Magazine. No. 338. EMAP Apex Publications. p. 15. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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