British Rail Class 308
Encyclopedia
The British Rail
(BR) Class 308 alternating current
(AC) electric multiple unit
s (EMU) were built by BR at York
, in three batches, from 1959–61. They were initially classified as AM8 units before the introduction of TOPS
.
system, and units were renumbered 308133–165. These units were built to operate commuter services on the Great Eastern Main Line
(GEML) from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield
, Witham
, Colchester
, Walton-on-the-Naze
and Clacton. Each unit was formed of four carriages: two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor coach.
Electrically the Class 308 stock has the same equipment as the Class 302 stock with a few modifications, some of these are the types of overload, the use of fan cooled rectifier continued until the rectifiers were modified to 8 diode type from 1982, this modified main rectifier was also modified and used on the Class 309 stock due to the problems of fan cooled types suffering from blocked filters causing failures in traffic.
The Braking system is basically the same as the Class 302 stock with the exception of Motor coach retaining the 16" cylinder rather than the 12" as fitted to Class 302 after replacing the cast Iron brake blocks with Composite (Ferodo) type.
From 1981–83, the units were refurbished, which included opening out compartments, fitting of gangways between carriages, and moving first class seating from the intermediate trailer to one of the driving trailers, with the same problems as the Class 302 stock of having First class passengers sitting above the Westinghouse CM38 compressor, however the Gresley bogies being retained In this modified form, the technical description of the formation was BDTCOL+MBSO+TSOL+DTSO. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:
in 1959-60, from Tilbury
to London Fenchurch Street. These units were later reclassified as Class 308/2 under TOPS
. Each unit was formed of four carriages: two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor luggage van, with the reduction in luggage some MLV's were converted at Swindon with a different seating arrangement to the original passenger vehicles. The technical description of the formation was BDTS+MLV+TC+DTS. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:
When Tilbury Docks closed as a cruise liner terminal, these units were made redundant and withdrawn from service in 1983. Three units were subsequently rebuilt as Class 308/4 parcels units for Rail Express Systems
(see below).
an services from London Liverpool Street to Chingford
and . They were numbered 453–455, following on from the Class 305/1
units, which also operated these services (which were numbered in the range 401–452).
These units were later reclassified as Class 308/3, and renumbered 308453–455 under TOPS
. Unlike the first batch, these units contained no first-class seating. Each unit was formed of three carriages: two outer driving trailers, and an intermediate motor coach. The technical description of the unit formation was BDTS+MBS+DTS. Individual carriages numbers were as follows:
These units were withdrawn in the late 1980s.
, with the removal of the intermediate trailer, and renumbered 308991–993. These units were replaced by three converted Class 302/9
parcels units in 1992.
units. Some of the displaced units were transferred to the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
(LTS), whilst others were transferred to the West Midlands
to work commuter train
s pending the introduction of new Class 323
units. The LTS units were later displaced by Class 312
units, but two were retained and converted to Class 937
sandite units. These sandite units were originally fitted with a small cement mixer that was used to mix the sandite and then loaded into the hoppers whilst the vehicle was in motion. Later, premixed sandite was loaded prior to use with the easing of the physical work by the staff.
In 1994–95, electrification spread North from Leeds
to Bradford
, Skipton
and Ilkley
. As no new stock had been ordered, BR decided to overhaul Class 308 units for use on these services. The work was carried out at Doncaster Works and involved reducing the unit length to three carriages, with the removal of the intermediate trailers, which were scrapped. The trains were also painted in West Yorkshire Metro maroon and cream livery.
In 1996, with the privatisation of Britain's railway network, the Class 308 fleet passed into the ownership of Angel Trains
and leased to the Regional Railways North East
franchise. This was originally operated as Northern Spirit
, but the franchise was later taken over by Arriva
and operated as Arriva Trains Northern
.
By the late 1990s, it was clear that the elderly Class 308 units needed replacing. Due to their age, they were increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. They were replaced by sixteen new 4-car Class 333
units, which were introduced from 1999. The Class 308 units were withdrawn and sent for storage at MoD Pig's Bay near Shoeburyness
. The final three units, nos. 308138/157/158, were withdrawn in late 2001, and were sent for scrap at Immingham
. Since then, the stored units have slowly been scrapped at various locations, with the final vehicles disposed of in 2004. However, one driving trailer was saved for preservation.
The carriage has been stripped of asbestos
and will therefore require a full internal rebuild at some point. This work has been ongoing for two years and most of the spares have been obtained, but a compressor, First Class doors and a Toilet door are still required.
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...
(BR) Class 308 alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC) electric multiple unit
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 (EMU) were built by BR at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, in three batches, from 1959–61. They were initially classified as AM8 units before the introduction of 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 308/1
The first batch of 33 units were built in 1959, numbered 133–165. This was later changed to Class 308/1 under the TOPSTOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
system, and units were renumbered 308133–165. These units were built to operate commuter services on the Great Eastern Main Line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
(GEML) from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield
Shenfield
Shenfield is a former village and now an outer suburb of Brentwood in the borough of the same name in Essex, England.-History:The name originates from the Anglo-Saxon Chenefield, meaning 'good lands'....
, Witham
Witham
Witham is a town in the county of Essex, in the south east of England with a population of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford and Colchester...
, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of...
and Clacton. Each unit was formed of four carriages: two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor coach.
Electrically the Class 308 stock has the same equipment as the Class 302 stock with a few modifications, some of these are the types of overload, the use of fan cooled rectifier continued until the rectifiers were modified to 8 diode type from 1982, this modified main rectifier was also modified and used on the Class 309 stock due to the problems of fan cooled types suffering from blocked filters causing failures in traffic.
The Braking system is basically the same as the Class 302 stock with the exception of Motor coach retaining the 16" cylinder rather than the 12" as fitted to Class 302 after replacing the cast Iron brake blocks with Composite (Ferodo) type.
From 1981–83, the units were refurbished, which included opening out compartments, fitting of gangways between carriages, and moving first class seating from the intermediate trailer to one of the driving trailers, with the same problems as the Class 302 stock of having First class passengers sitting above the Westinghouse CM38 compressor, however the Gresley bogies being retained In this modified form, the technical description of the formation was BDTCOL+MBSO+TSOL+DTSO. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:
- 75878-75886 and 75896-75919 - BDTCOL
- 61883-61915 - MBSO
- 70611-70643 - TSOL
- 75887-75895 and 75929-75952 - DTSO
Class 308/2
A second batch of nine units, numbered 313–321, were built for boat train services on the London, Tilbury and Southend RailwayLondon, Tilbury and Southend Railway
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...
in 1959-60, from Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
to London Fenchurch Street. These units were later reclassified as Class 308/2 under TOPS
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
. Each unit was formed of four carriages: two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor luggage van, with the reduction in luggage some MLV's were converted at Swindon with a different seating arrangement to the original passenger vehicles. The technical description of the formation was BDTS+MLV+TC+DTS. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:
- 75920-75928 - BDTS
- 68011-68019 - MLV
- 70644-70652 - TC
- 75953-75961 - DTS
When Tilbury Docks closed as a cruise liner terminal, these units were made redundant and withdrawn from service in 1983. Three units were subsequently rebuilt as Class 308/4 parcels units for Rail Express Systems
Rail Express Systems
Upon the sectorisation of British Rail during the 1980s the Parcels Sector was created. In 1991 this was rebranded Rail Express Systems. The Rail Express Systems launch event was held at Crewe Diesel Depot in October 1991. For this event examples of Class 08, 47, 86 & 90 locomotives were painted...
(see below).
Class 308/3
Finally, a third batch of 3-car units were built in 1961 for suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an services from London Liverpool Street to Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
and . They were numbered 453–455, following on from the Class 305/1
British Rail Class 305
The British Rail Class 305 was an alternating current electric multiple unit . Under the pre-1973 British Rail numbering system, the class was known as AM5...
units, which also operated these services (which were numbered in the range 401–452).
These units were later reclassified as Class 308/3, and renumbered 308453–455 under TOPS
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
. Unlike the first batch, these units contained no first-class seating. Each unit was formed of three carriages: two outer driving trailers, and an intermediate motor coach. The technical description of the unit formation was BDTS+MBS+DTS. Individual carriages numbers were as follows:
- 75741-75743 - BDTS
- 61689-61691 - MBS
- 75992-75994 - DTS
These units were withdrawn in the late 1980s.
Converted postal units
In 1983, three former Class 308/2 units (nos. 314/319/321) were converted into Class 308/4 postal units by the Parcels sectorRail Express Systems
Upon the sectorisation of British Rail during the 1980s the Parcels Sector was created. In 1991 this was rebranded Rail Express Systems. The Rail Express Systems launch event was held at Crewe Diesel Depot in October 1991. For this event examples of Class 08, 47, 86 & 90 locomotives were painted...
, with the removal of the intermediate trailer, and renumbered 308991–993. These units were replaced by three converted Class 302/9
British Rail Class 302
The British Rail Class 302 was a type of electric multiple unit introduced between 1958 - 1960 for outer suburban passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway route...
parcels units in 1992.
Operations
By the early 1990s, only the Class 308/1 units were still in service. These were gradually replaced on GEML services by the new Class 321British Rail Class 321
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in three batches from 1988-91. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express respectively...
units. Some of the displaced units were transferred to the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...
(LTS), whilst others were transferred to the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
to work commuter train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s pending the introduction of new Class 323
British Rail Class 323
The British Rail Class 323 electric multiple units were built by Hunslet TPL from 1992-93. Forty-three 3-car units were built for inner-suburban services around Birmingham and Manchester...
units. The LTS units were later displaced by Class 312
British Rail Class 312
The British Rail Class 312 is a type of alternating current electric multiple unit built in 1975-1978 for use on outer-suburban passenger services. It was the last class of multiple unit to be constructed with the British Rail Mark 2 bodyshell, and also the last with slam doors...
units, but two were retained and converted to Class 937
British Rail Class 937
The British Rail Class 937 was reserved for former AC electrical multiple units, converted for departmental use. Units were converted for various tasks, including application of sandite, and use as tractor units to tow other trains....
sandite units. These sandite units were originally fitted with a small cement mixer that was used to mix the sandite and then loaded into the hoppers whilst the vehicle was in motion. Later, premixed sandite was loaded prior to use with the easing of the physical work by the staff.
In 1994–95, electrification spread North from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Skipton
Skipton
Skipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
and Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
. As no new stock had been ordered, BR decided to overhaul Class 308 units for use on these services. The work was carried out at Doncaster Works and involved reducing the unit length to three carriages, with the removal of the intermediate trailers, which were scrapped. The trains were also painted in West Yorkshire Metro maroon and cream livery.
In 1996, with the privatisation of Britain's railway network, the Class 308 fleet passed into the ownership of Angel Trains
Angel Trains
Angel Trains is an English Rolling Stock Operating Company created in 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. It was one of three ROSCOs...
and leased to the Regional Railways North East
Regional Railways
Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1996, 3 years after privatisation. The sector was originally called Provincial....
franchise. This was originally operated as Northern Spirit
Northern Spirit
This article is about the railway company Northern Spirit. For the Australian football club of the same name, see Northern Spirit FC.Northern Spirit was a UK train operating company which ran local and regional train services in the north east of England during the late 1990s.-Operations:Created...
, but the franchise was later taken over by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
and operated as Arriva Trains Northern
Arriva Trains Northern
Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company that operated passenger trains in Yorkshire and the North East of England. The company had previously been known as Northern Spirit before being taken over by Arriva....
.
By the late 1990s, it was clear that the elderly Class 308 units needed replacing. Due to their age, they were increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. They were replaced by sixteen new 4-car Class 333
British Rail Class 333
The British Rail Class 333 electric multiple units were built by Siemens and CAF are based on the Class 332 trains operated by Heathrow Express.-Description:...
units, which were introduced from 1999. The Class 308 units were withdrawn and sent for storage at MoD Pig's Bay near Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around east of Southend town centre...
. The final three units, nos. 308138/157/158, were withdrawn in late 2001, and were sent for scrap at Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
. Since then, the stored units have slowly been scrapped at various locations, with the final vehicles disposed of in 2004. However, one driving trailer was saved for preservation.
Preservation
One driving trailer from unit 308136 has been saved for preservation.- 75881 - Electric Railway Museum, BagintonCoventry Railway CentreThe Electric Railway Museum is located in Warwickshire, south of Coventry city, outside Baginton, and near to Coventry Airport. The heritage railway centre was also known as "The Airfield Line" as the railway was built on the site of a greenfield...
(website). Restoration ongoing.
The carriage has been stripped of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and will therefore require a full internal rebuild at some point. This work has been ongoing for two years and most of the spares have been obtained, but a compressor, First Class doors and a Toilet door are still required.
Fleet details
| Class | Route | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit Nos. | Withdrawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Later | ||||||
| Class 308/1 | Great Eastern | 33 | 1961 | 4 | 133–165 | 308133–165 | 2001 |
| Class 308/2 | LTS | 9 | 1962 | 4 | 313–321 | — | 1983 |
| Class 308/3 | Great Eastern | 3 | 1962 | 3 | 453–455 | 308453–455 | late-1980s |
| Class 308/4 | Postal Units (ex-Class 308/2) | 3 | Rebuilt 1983 | 3 | (ex-314/319/321) | 308991–993 | 1992 |