British Rail Class 139 is the
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom.
TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
classification for PPM60 model lightweight
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s built by
Parry People Movers
Parry People Movers Ltd. (PPM) is a British company manufacturing lightweight trams and railcars that use flywheel energy storage (FES) to store energy for traction, allowing electric systems to operate without overhead wires or third rails, an ...
,
for use on the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
rail network. The class were originally built in 2008 for operation on the
Stourbridge Town branch line following an extensive trial with a prototype registered as a Class 999 unit.
The first newly constructed Class 139 was shown on 28 June 2008 at the
Tyseley Locomotive Works
Tyseley Locomotive Works, formerly the Birmingham Railway Museum, is the engineering arm of steam railtour promoter Vintage Trains based in Birmingham, England. It occupies part of the former Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, built in 19 ...
Open Day. The full fleet of two units entered public service on the branch line in June 2009.
Technology
The Class 139 units are typical of the Parry People Mover concept, in that they utilise
flywheel energy storage
Flywheel energy storage (FES) works by accelerating a rotor (flywheel) to a very high speed and maintaining the energy in the system as rotational energy. When energy is extracted from the system, the flywheel's rotational speed is reduced as a c ...
to recapture and supply the motive force for moving the vehicle.
The
flywheel
A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...
captures the vehicle's kinetic energy when the
brakes
A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
Background ...
are used,
and re-uses the energy for acceleration. This eliminates the need for a large
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
. The small onboard engine (fuelled by LPG) is used to initially bring the flywheel up to speed, to add speed to the flywheel after the vehicle is started in motion, and to provide power for the onboard systems.
Usage
![139001 TS 280608 d](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/139001_TS_280608_d.adkins.jpg)
The concept of using the lightweight
railcar dates from 2006, when a year-long pilot scheme began on the
Stourbridge Town branch line on Sundays, using a PPM50 unit constructed in 2002 and numbered as 999 900 under
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom.
TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
. The success of this trial led to the provision of regular services using the technology in the franchise plans for the new West Midlands Franchise. Following the award of the franchise to
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Govi ...
, they placed an order for two PPM60 units with Parry People Movers, through
Porterbrook
Porterbrook is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO), created as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Together with Angel Trains and Eversholt Rail Group, it is one of the three original ROSCOs.
Porterbrook was established in March 199 ...
leasing, with the service itself operated for them by Pre Metro Operations.
These two units are 139 001 and 139 002, composed of vehicle numbers 39001 and 39002 in the
British carriage and wagon numbering and classification
A number of different numbering and classification schemes have been used for carriages and wagons on Britain's railways, and this page explains the principal systems. Carriages and wagons (either not self-propelled, or part of a multiple unit wh ...
system. The vehicles are mechanically similar to 999 900, but are approximately one metre (yard) longer. They were intended to start operating on the Stourbridge Town branch in 2008. In January 2009 it was confirmed that 139001 was still undergoing testing at Chasewater Railway and 139002 was still not completed.
Despite the difficulties in the commissioning of the two Class 139 units, London Midland consistently outlined its faith that they would be ready to enter service. In March 2009, it was announced that the first unit had received its passenger certification from
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
, allowing it to carry passengers. London Midland stated that they would begin a phased entry into service, starting with weekend operation in April, leading up to a full service by the timetable change in May 2009. Until then, London Midland temporarily returned a
Class 153 to operating the branch service.
139 002 officially entered service on 29 March 2009 as part of the type's phased entry. This unit had previously worked in full service, including all-day on Monday 11 May 2009 and previously had worked all morning services during February/March 2009.
In May 2009, the first unit, 139 001, was finally delivered to Stourbridge, with 999 900 removed at the same time.
Test unit 999 900 had been on the branch line between 2005–2009.
At the point of introduction, they displaced a single
Class 153 DMU that was previously allocated to the branch line. By December 2009, the 200,000th passenger had been carried by the railcars.
In 2010, a trial service was planned between the
Mid-Hants Railway
The Mid-Hants Railway(MHR) originated when local people promoted a railway line between Alton and a junction near Winchester, connected to the larger London and South Western Railway at each end. It was authorised as the Alton, Alresford and ...
, a heritage line in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, and
Go-Op, a planned
open access operator
In rail transport in Europe, an open-access operator is a train operating company that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and in countries where rail services run under ...
, which would see the former 999 900 restored to its original designation as Parry Car No. 12, operate peak time trains between and , intended to connect with
South West Trains
Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017.
SWT op ...
services to London in the morning and from London in the evening. Problems with the vehicle during testing meant that this project was postponed. As a consequence, the vehicle, since purchased by
Lightweight Community Transport
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
, underwent a major rebuild to bring it up to Class 139 standard, and was renumbered as 139 000, then later 139 012.
Future
Parry People Movers are using London Midland's purchase of the Class 139 for the short Stourbridge line to promote the PPM concept for other lines that are short and essentially separate from the main railway network as a means of reintroducing rail travel to areas that have seen it curtailed. PPM indicated that they intended to use a variation of the PPM60 model, to be known as the PPM220, to bid for the contract to build a small fleet of experimental
tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This all ...
s for use on the
Penistone Line
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards ( ...
, and for the new generation DMUs intended as part of the Government's rolling stock plan. This will entail an articulated unit, with a pair of PPM60 variants at either end of a fixed passenger unit—the whole unit will be capable of accommodating up to 220 passengers and travel at up to on railways or on
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
ways. The Penistone trial however was cancelled before a bidder was selected, and was replaced in September 2009 with an electric Rotherham-Sheffield trial.
Unit 139012 is planned to be used as a technology demonstrator following its upgrade, with testing planned initially for the
Chasewater Railway
The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.
The line is approximately in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Countr ...
, a long
heritage line
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, before further tests on the much longer, double track
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
.
The intention then is to transport the vehicle to test a more frequent service on the
Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line Ellesmere ( ) may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Ellesmere, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland
* the former name of Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
* Ellesmere Island, an Arctic island of Canada and named for ...
between and .
In cooperation with Lightweight Community Transport, Parry People Movers are developing a new, four–axle
bogie
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
vehicle with a more powerful diesel engine and greater passenger capacity that it plans to market as the flagship product for use on branch lines, which it is classing as 139/1 (with the original, two axle units being 139/0). The success of the Stourbridge units has led to more interest in using such vehicles elsewhere by
train operating companies
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
The ...
, with at least one pre-qualified franchise bidder in the 2012 round including the procurement of Class 139s in its franchise bid.
Parry People Movers Newsletter No 63
/ref>
Fleet details
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Parry People Movers
Stourbridge Line User Group
London Midland
Ford Power Products DSG423 engine details
{{UK light rail vehicles
139 139 may refer to:
* 139 (number), an integer
* AD 139, a year of the Julian calendar
* 139 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 139 (New Jersey bus) 139 may refer to:
* 139 (number), an integer
* AD 139, a year of the Julian calendar
* 13 ...
Hybrid vehicles
Train-related introductions in 2009