British Rail Class 508
| British Rail Class 508 | |
|---|---|
Merseyrail Class 508 at Hightown | |
The interior of a Merseyrail-refurbished Class 508 unit | |
| In service | 17 December 1979 – 16 January 2024[1] |
| Manufacturer | British Rail Engineering Limited |
| Order no. |
|
| Built at | Holgate Road Works, York |
| Family name | BREL 1972 |
| Replaced | Class 503 |
| Constructed | 1979–1980 |
| Refurbished | |
| Number built | 43 |
| Number scrapped | 41 |
| Successor | |
| Formation |
|
| Diagram |
|
| Design code | 4PER[4] |
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Owners | Angel Trains[6] |
| Operators | |
| Depots | |
| Lines served |
|
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel underframe and body frame, aluminium body and roof |
| Car length |
|
| Width | 2.820 m (9 ft 3.0 in) |
| Height | 3.582 m (11 ft 9.0 in) |
| Floor height | 1.146 m (3 ft 9.1 in) |
| Doors | Double-leaf pocket sliding, each 1.288 m (4 ft 2.7 in) wide (2 per side per car) |
| Wheelbase | Over bogie centres: 14.170 m (46 ft 5.9 in) |
| Maximum speed | 75 mph (120 km/h) |
| Weight |
|
| Traction motors | |
| Power output | 656 kW (880 hp) |
| HVAC | Electric heating (ducted warm air) |
| Electric system(s) | 750–850 V DC third rail[2] |
| Current collector(s) | Contact shoe |
| UIC classification | Bo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′ |
| Bogies | BREL BX1 |
| Minimum turning radius | 70.4 m (231 ft 0 in) |
| Braking system(s) | Electro-pneumatic (disc) and rheostatic[2][5] |
| Safety system(s) |
|
| Coupling system | Tightlock |
| Multiple working | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Notes/references | |
| Specifications as at August 1982[9] except where otherwise noted. The additional TSO vehicles, removed as part of three-car conversion, were inserted into Class 455/7 units.[2] | |
The British Rail Class 508 electric multiple units ("EMUs") were built by BREL at York works in 1979-80. They were the fourth variety of BR's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes (313/314/315/507/508). They have mostly worked on the Merseyrail network since 1983, and continue to do so, now refurbished by Alstom's Eastleigh Works.
Related pages
References
- ↑ Russell, David (March 2024). "Final Merseyrail Class 508 withdrawn". Units. Rail Express. No. 334. p. 22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 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.
- ↑ Marsden, C. J. (2007). Traction Recognition. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 228, 248–251. ISBN 978-0-7110-3277-4. OCLC 230804946. OL 16902750M.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Class 508". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ↑ Sherratt, Philip, ed. (2023). "ROSCO Fleets". Modern Railways: Review 2023. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-80282-569-5.
- ↑ Maund, T. B. (2001). Merseyrail Electrics: The Inside Story. NBC Books. pp. 78, 82, 85. OCLC 655126526.
- ↑ Llewelyn, Hugh (2016). EMUs: A History. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. pp. 520–521. ISBN 978-1-4456-4983-2. OCLC 1064706206.
- ↑ 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.
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