The British Rail BEMU was an experimental two-car

battery electric multiple unit A battery electric multiple unit (BEMU), battery electric railcar or accumulator railcar is an electrically driven multiple unit or railcar whose energy is derived from rechargeable batteries driving the traction motors. Prime advantages of these ...

(BEMU), converted from the prototype Derby Lightweight

Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s. The train was powered by many lead-acid batteries, and was used on the

Deeside Railway The Deeside Railway was a passenger and goods railway between Aberdeen and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Opening in 1853 to Banchory, an extension reached Aboyne in 1859. A separate company, the Aboyne & Braemar Railway, built an exten ...

from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to Ballater in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

from April 1958 until it was finally withdrawn in December 1966. The

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (1943–1990) was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. It is regarded as one of the major achievements of Scottish politician Thomas Johnston, w ...

initiated the design and was a joint sponsor. The board promised to supply power at three farthings per unit for a fixed two-year period. It provided a 6,600 V supply to a charger at Aberdeen's platform 1 and 11 kV to a Ballater charger.Railway Magazine June 1958 pp. 419-420 First Battery Railcars on BR

Career

The estimated cost of the fit-out was £50,000, with the two coaches accounting for almost half of that. Because each set of batteries weighed about eight tons, the underframe of the carriages needed strengthening, at a budgeted cost of £2,000. Motors, conduits and cabling were costed at £5,000. The unit was equipped with a new type of battery in the early 1960s, but subsequently suffered a series of small fires in the battery areas and was withdrawn from service. It returned to use for a period before closure of the line in 1966.

Departmental use and preservation

The train then spent a short time in storage at Inverurie Works, and at Hyndland Shed in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, before being transferred to departmental use as test train "Gemini" (or "Laboratory 16") for use at the

Railway Technical Centre The Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in London Road, Derby, England, was the technical headquarters of the British Railways Board, and was built in the early 1960s. British Rail described it as the largest railway research complex in the world. Th ...

, at Derby. It lasted in this role until it was withdrawn in 1984, and was eventually bought for preservation at the proposed West Yorkshire Transport Museum, where it was returned to working order. The museum placed it on loan to the

East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with ...

in 1994 where, after asbestos was removed and the batteries refurbished, it was used on some services until 2000. After the museum went into liquidation, the unit was purchased by the

Royal Deeside Railway The Royal Deeside Railway is a Scottish heritage railway located at Milton of Crathes railway station on a part of the original Deeside Railway. Original Railway Originally constructed between 1853 and 1866, the Deeside Railway ran between ...

in 2001. It is now back in Scotland, where it is undergoing refurbishment. Details are as follows:

References

External links

Photos at Royal Deeside Railway
- Photographs from the unit's time as the BR Automatic Train Operation test train.

– BEMU () {{British Rail EMU BEMU Train-related introductions in 1958