British Rail Class 418 (or 2-SAP) was a class of

electrical multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

commissioned by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways Southern Region in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The units were formed by declassifying the first class accommodation in selected 2-HAP units. They were employed mainly on semi-fast suburban routes such as the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

as far as

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

Waterloo to Reading Line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, Staines to Windsor Line and

Hounslow Loop Line The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London which was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1850. It leaves the Waterloo to Reading Line at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a trian ...

Class 418/0

14 units were converted from Bulleid design 2-HAP units in 1969. First class was restored in 1970 and they regained their former identities. They would have become class 418/0 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 ...

but reverted to class 414 before being reclassified.

Class 418/1

40 2-SAP units numbered 5901-5940 were converted from 2-HAP units (in the 6001-6042 range, not numbered consecutively) between March and May 1974. First class was restored between February and July 1980 and they regained their former identities, with the exception of unit 5917 which was scrapped in 1978 following a collision. Many were incorporated into 4-CAP units. 2-HAP unit 6039 (previously 2-SAP unit 5937) was converted back into a 2-SAP, this time numbered 5939 (the second 2-SAP unit to carry that number, the previous being 2-HAP 6041) in June 1982. It was withdrawn in April 1983 and scrapped.

Class 418/2

2-HAP units 6043 and 6044 were converted to 2-SAP units 5941 and 5942 in April 1974. They were followed by 2-HAP units 6045 to 6053 converted to 2-SAP units 5943 to 5951 respectively in May 1977. 5951 was converted back to a 2-HAP in October 1977 and the remainder converted back between February and April 1980. All regained their original identities. Many were incorporated into 4-CAP units.

Class 418/0

Class 418/1

Class 418/2

References

Further reading