LNER electric units
Encyclopedia
In 1937 the London and North Eastern Railway
(LNER) ordered a fleet of articulated
electric multiple unit
(EMU) passenger trains for use on the Tyneside Electric lines, which linked the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne
with the coast at North Shields
and South Shields
. The order also included some single-unit motor parcel vans and motor luggage vans.
These replaced older trains that had been introduced by the LNER's constituent company, the North Eastern Railway
, in 1904, when it opened Britain's first provincial electric railway.
The A and B twins could be used as 2-car sets but the C and D twins (which had no driving cabs in the trailers) would be made up into sets of four, or more, cars.
. The outer bogie of each motor car carried two electric traction motor
s. The passenger cars had bucket seats and manually-operated sliding doors. The luggage compartments had double sliding doors. The motor parcel vans, which had four motors, were permitted to haul a tail load of up to 100 tons.
s.
In the 1970s and 1980s the entire route served by these trains, with the exception of the former riverside loop line through Walker
, was re-electrified as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro
.
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(LNER) ordered a fleet of articulated
Articulated car
Articulated cars are rail vehicles which are consist of a number of smaller, lighter cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and which share common trucks. They are much longer than single passenger cars, and on the TGV Réseau, for example, 8 cars are joined this way...
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) passenger trains for use on the Tyneside Electric lines, which linked the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
with the coast at North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
and South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
. The order also included some single-unit motor parcel vans and motor luggage vans.
These replaced older trains that had been introduced by the LNER's constituent company, the North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
, in 1904, when it opened Britain's first provincial electric railway.
Overview
There were four classes of "articulated twins" with minor differences between them. As built, some cars had first class accommodation but this was abolished in 1959 and all accommodation became third class (later second class).- A twins, motor 3rd + trailer 3rd
- B twins, luggage motor 3rd + trailer 1st
- C twins, motor 3rd + trailer 3rd (non-driving)
- D twins, luggage motor 3rd + trailer 1st (non-driving)
The A and B twins could be used as 2-car sets but the C and D twins (which had no driving cabs in the trailers) would be made up into sets of four, or more, cars.
Numbering
In LNER days the articulated units were numbered sequentially with the motor cars having odd numbers and the trailers having even numbers. BR numbered the motor cars and trailers in separate series.- Articulated units, LNER 24145–24272
- BR motors, E29101E–E29164E
- BR trailers, E29301E–E29328E and E29229E–E29264E
- Motor luggage vans, LNER 24273–4
- BR E29165E–E29166E
- Motor parcel vans, LNER 2424–5
- BR E29467E–E29468E
Specification
The articulated units were in two-car sets comprising one motor car and one trailer car sharing a common centre bogieBogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
. The outer bogie of each motor car carried two electric traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s. The passenger cars had bucket seats and manually-operated sliding doors. The luggage compartments had double sliding doors. The motor parcel vans, which had four motors, were permitted to haul a tail load of up to 100 tons.
- Builder, Metropolitan-CammellMetro CammellThe Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company was a Birmingham, England based manufacturer of railway carriages and wagons, based in Saltley and subsequently Washwood Heath....
- Electrical supply, 630V DC
- Traction motors, Crompton ParkinsonCrompton ParkinsonCrompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd.Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer founded by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton in 1878 and had designed and installed electric lighting installations at...
,- continuous rating, 154 hpHorsepowerHorsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
, 210 ampAmpereThe ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics... - 1-hour rating, 216 hp, 295 amp
- continuous rating, 154 hp
- Total output (continuous),
- articulated sets, 308 hp (2 motors)
- motor luggage vans and motor parcel vans, 616 hp (4 motors each vehicle)
- Gear ratioGear ratioThe gear ratio of a gear train is the ratio of the angular velocity of the input gear to the angular velocity of the output gear, also known as the speed ratio of the gear train. The gear ratio can be computed directly from the numbers of teeth of the various gears that engage to form the gear...
, 71:18 - Brakes, electro-pneumaticElectro-pneumatic brake system on British railway trainsThe Electro-pneumatic brake system on British railway trains was introduced in 1950. The Southern Region of British Railways operated an intensive self-contained fleet of electric multiple units for suburban and middle distance passenger trains...
- SandingSandbox (railways)A sandbox is a container on most locomotives and self propelled multiple units, or trams, that run on tramways and adhesion railways...
, pneumatic
Successors
In the 1960s changing demographics saw the Tyneside electric network being run down and de-electrified after investigations showed an expensive overhaul of the ageing infrastructure was needed. The electric trains were withdrawn and replaced by diesel multiple unitDiesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s.
In the 1970s and 1980s the entire route served by these trains, with the exception of the former riverside loop line through Walker
Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne
Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward just east of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Walker's name is a hybrid of Old English and Viking Norse, "Wall-kjerr", where "kjerr" is Norse for "marshy woodland"...
, was re-electrified as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
.
External links
- LNER Encyclopedia
- Southern Electric Group
- emus.co.uk
- Ken Hoole Study Centre at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum