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 424 "Networker Classic"

British Rail brand names

British Rail was the brand image of the nationalised railway owner and operator in Great Britain, the British Railways Board, used from 1965 until its breakup and sell-off from 1993 onwards....

 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...

 (EMU) was built in 1997 by ADtranz

Adtranz

ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....

 at Derby

Derby Carriage and Wagon Works

Derby Carriage and Wagon Works was built by the Midland Railway in Derby, England. The plant has been through many changes of ownership and is currently owned by Bombardier Transportation, a subsidiary of Bombardier Inc. of Canada. As of 2011 it is the only remaining passenger rolling stock...

. It was a prototype vehicle rebuilt from a Class 421

British Rail Class 421

The British Rail Class 421 electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works between 1964 and 1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern...

 driving trailer vehicle.

The "Networker Classic" concept involved rebuilding Mark 1 design Southern Region EMUs of Classes 411

British Rail Class 411

The British Rail Class 411 electrical multiple units were built at Eastleigh works from 1956-63 for the newly electrified main lines in Kent. These units were based on the earlier Southern Railway 4Cor design, built in 1937. They were replaced by Juniper units.-Description:A total of 133 units...

, 421

British Rail Class 421

The British Rail Class 421 electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works between 1964 and 1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern...

 and 423

British Rail Class 423

The British Rail Class 423 electrical multiple units were built by BR at York Works from 1967 to 1974, although the MBSOs and TSOs of the first 20, 7701-7720, were constructed at Derby Works. They feature manually-opening doors next to every seating row and were the last coaching stock built in...

 to meet current crash-worthiness standards. This involved building a new bodyshell on the existing chassis, but keeping the original electrical and motor equipment. Therefore, the aim was to produce a 'new' unit at one quarter the cost of manufacturing a train from scratch. The rebuilt units would have had a life of at least fifteen years, thus saving considerable amounts of money when replacing old stock. However, for some reason the project was not successful, and train companies turned to new-build trains of Classes 375

British Rail Class 375

The British Rail Class 375 Electrostar electric multiple unit train was built by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Works, from 1999 to 2005...

, 376

British Rail Class 376

The Class 376 Suburban Electrostar is a model of electric multiple-unit passenger train manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Electrostar family, which are the most common EMUs introduced since the privatisation of British Rail...

, 377

British Rail Class 377

The Class 377 Electrostar is an electric multiple unit type built by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Works, from 2001 to present. The Electrostar family, which also includes Classes 357, 375, 376, 378, and 379, is the most numerous type of EMU built in the post-privatisation period of...

, 444

British Rail Class 444

The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....

, 450

British Rail Class 450

The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family and are more commonly known as the 'Blue Desiro'...

, 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:...

, and 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...

 from various manufacturers.

One vehicle, no. 76112 from 'Phase 1' 4Cig

British Rail Class 421

The British Rail Class 421 electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works between 1964 and 1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern...

 unit 1749 was rebuilt as a prototype in 1997. It was displayed to the public at London Victoria, paired with unrebuilt DT 76747 from 4Big unit 2256, for comparisons purposes.

Since the project was shelved, the vehicle remains stored at Derby. The unrebuilt DT with which it was paired later became part of 4Cig

British Rail Class 421

The British Rail Class 421 electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works between 1964 and 1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern...

unit 1399, which has since been preserved.