![306 modified roofline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/306_modified_roofline.jpg)
The British Rail Class 306 was a type of
electric multiple unit (EMU) introduced in 1949. It consisted of 92 three-car
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
s which were used on the
Great Eastern Main Line between and
London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
.
Overview
Class 306 trains were built to a pre-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
design by
Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham, England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the factory divided by the boundary be ...
(Driving Trailer) and
Metro Cammell
Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...
(Driving Motor Brake and Trailer) and were equipped with
Metrovick traction equipment
Crompton Parkinson
Crompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company. It was formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co. with F & A. Parkinson Ltd.
The brand is now part of Brook Crompton.
History
Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer foun ...
traction motors. Each carriage featured two sets of twin
pneumatic sliding passenger doors, which could be opened by either the guard or the passengers, who could use buttons fitted inside and outside the doors. The order was placed by the
LNER LNER may refer to:
* London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947
* London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018
* Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
in 1938 but official delivery did not commence until February 1949.
When built the trains were energised at 1,500
V direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...
(DC) which was collected from overhead wires by a diamond
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
located above the cab on the Motor Brake Second Open (MBSO) vehicle.
From 1959 to 1961 the overhead wires were re-energised at 25 kV
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(ac) (and 6.25 kV ac in the inner
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
areas where headroom for the overhead wires was reduced) and the trains were rebuilt to use this different electrical system. A transformer and rectifier unit was fitted to the underframe between the
bogies of the intermediate Trailer Brake Second (TBS) and the pantograph, now a more modern
Stone Faiveley AMBR design, was moved to the roof of this carriage. Because this reduced the headroom inside the train, the guard's compartment was relocated to be directly below the pantograph. The trains were then numbered 001-092 with the last two digits of each carriage number (LNER coaching series numbers used) the same as the unit number.
Operation
Units being made up of three coaches, trains were formed up to three units (nine coaches)
although off-peak trains formed of only two units (six coaches) could be seen. This meant that the standard formation could carry 528 seated passengers plus another 696 standing, making 1,224 passengers, compared with about 1,000 passengers in the steam trains that they replaced.
There is a record of a single three-coach unit hauling a
Class 47 and train into
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...
after the locomotive failed on a
London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
to
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
express.
Formations
The 92 units were originally numbered 01 to 92, becoming 001 to 092 upon conversion for AC operation. Coach numbers were:
*DMSO: 65201 to 65292
*TBSO: 65401 to 65492
*DTSO: 65601 to 65692
In all cases the last two digits of the unit number matched those of the coach numbers. The whole fleet was allocated to Ilford depot.
Withdrawal and preservation
The Class 306 trains were withdrawn in the early 1980s, with 306017 preserved at Ilford depot. It had been repainted in a near original green livery, albeit with a yellow warning panel on the front to comply with then-current safety regulations. In the early 2000s, it was restored to operational condition by
First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997 until March 2004.
Services
First Great Eastern operated all stops and limited stops services on the ...
.
[" What future for the last 306?" '']Rail Express
This tabulation is for periodicals which do not have their own articles.
Magazines ''Australian Railway''
*
* Published Trade News Corporation
* Feb-Mar 1988 is Vol. 2 No. 1.
* Last issue about #23 in approximately Aug 1992.
* Size = ~A4
''A ...
'' issue 247 December 2016 pages 16-19
The unit was in store at
MoD Kineton
Defence Munitions (DM) Kineton occupies the site officially known as MOD Kineton, and is a Ministry of Defence property located close to the village of Kineton, Warwickshire, England.
History
Developed from 1941 onwards on land neighbouring th ...
awaiting the resolving of issues such as asbestos contamination. The contamination was removed at
Eastleigh Works
Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire in England.
History
LSWR
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a carriage and wagon works at Ea ...
and the unit was transferred by rail to the
East Anglian Railway Museum
The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are ...
in June 2011 for display as an exhibit, under a 4-year loan agreement from the
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...
. It was moved to
Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon in October 2018 so it can be assessed before restoration. It is scheduled to move to
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
when space becomes available.
[Class 306]
Science Museum Group
See also
*
Class 506 EMUs - similar to the Class 306 EMUs, but built for the
Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{British Rail EMU
306
Train-related introductions in 1949