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Overhead EMU Photos


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27 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

Always was a mystery to my, why BR didn't perpetuate MK2 based EMU designs. A MK2 version of a 309 would have been a nice machine to ride on.

They built Mk.2 DEMUs for Northern Ireland, though to quite a different pattern. There was also a very basic outline drawing of a Mk.2 based EMU with sliding doors in a mid-'60s Modern Railways I've got.

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36 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

Always was a mystery to my, why BR didn't perpetuate MK2 based EMU designs. A MK2 version of a 309 would have been a nice machine to ride on.

I suppose the answer to your question, is what would they have been required for?  Every electrified route on BR was operated by EMUs that were far from life-expired, while there were unlikely to be more electrified suburban routes (perhaps MML 10-15 years earlier than actually undertaken) as passenger traffic on the railways was still declining (including London commuting).  By the time 310s/312s were built, BR was set into a period and mindset of managed decline which didn't really end until the late 1980s.

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The AM6   swingers because of the ride qualities ,very comfortable ,fast ,good quality units shame when they retired .They even made to Sarfend  now that was ride to remember fast   and bumpy over points the deep seat cushions were most apreciated!

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I remember these from a young age. They had lovely interiors with polished wood, chromed handrails and etched glass light shades. The ride was lively, but mostly in the vertical plane, not lurching from side to side much.

Strange to think the replacement Class 315s were actually in service for longer though.

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From memory I think they used to have compound catenary on the lines through Forest Gate. That's certainly what they have there at Romford. Must have been replaced sometime, I would guess in either the '70s or '80s. As that photo shows, it was still there after the conversion to 25kV A.C.

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1 hour ago, BernardTPM said:

From memory I think they used to have compound catenary on the lines through Forest Gate. That's certainly what they have there at Romford. Must have been replaced sometime, I would guess in either the '70s or '80s. As that photo shows, it was still there after the conversion to 25kV A.C.

Is it 25kV, or is it 6.25kV? Looking at the size of the insulators, I'm inclined to think the latter.

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On 31/08/2021 at 19:13, montyburns56 said:

AM2 EMU leaving Romford

 

 

On 31/08/2021 at 21:10, BernardTPM said:

From memory I think they used to have compound catenary on the lines through Forest Gate. That's certainly what they have there at Romford. Must have been replaced sometime, I would guess in either the '70s or '80s. As that photo shows, it was still there after the conversion to 25kV A.C.

 

On 31/08/2021 at 22:59, rodent279 said:

Is it 25kV, or is it 6.25kV? Looking at the size of the insulators, I'm inclined to think the latter.

 

On 31/08/2021 at 23:20, BernardTPM said:

It could be. I'm not sure when they upgraded all the line to 25kV but perhaps that's when the compound catenary was replaced with simple catenary too.

 

At the date of that picture it was 6.25kV.  The GEML 6.25kV sections were converted to 25kV in stages in the late 1970s.

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On 25/08/2021 at 03:12, rodent279 said:

 A MK2 version of a 309 would have been a nice machine to ride on.

It was! BREL built a series of EMU's for Taiwan based on a Mk2 bodyshell and riding on a narrow gauge (3'6") version of a standard BR EMU bogie. Introduced in 1978 they were withdrawn from regular service in 2009, though one has been retained by TRA as a working heritage unit. They rode very nicely. Interior fixtures and fittings were very BR Mr2, except the seats which in Asian fashion were a comfortable rotating design so that you always travel facing forward. I remember being sent to the Taiwan Representative Office in London to pick up a visa for my manager who was being sent out to help resolve the teething issues, but when I rode on one in 1998 all was good.

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The GE retained it's compound system until quite recently, it was only renewed this Century.  Until then it was still the original wire installed as part of the 1949 on DC scheme that got as far as Chelmsford and Southend.  The original wire was thick stuff, and as the current it needed to carry went down as it was converted from 1500V DC to 6.25kV AC and finally 25kV AC for the introduction of the 25KV only class 315s, the maximum allowable wear went up too.  At the rate things were moving the wire would never have worn out, but the issues with it being fixed termination rather than automatically tensioned were just causing too many reliability issues in hot weather, so it had to be upgraded.  

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