The

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 ra ...

Class 419 Motor Luggage Vans (or MLV) were

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 ...

cars built from 1951-61 by BR at Eastleigh Works.

Description

Each MLV unit is essentially a motorised BG carriage, with a driver's position at each end. Each vehicle has two luggage compartments and a guard's compartment. Ten of these units were built for the

boat train A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__ Notable named boat tr ...

s from

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

and

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. Units were originally numbered in the range 68001-68010, but were classified Class 419 under the TOPS system and were then renumbered 419001-419010, the numbers actually carried on the units in service reduced to 9001-9010, omitting the first two digits. The units were able to work alone, hauling a limited load, or work in multiple with other EP-type rolling stock, usually in conjunction with Class 410 and Class 411. The units were also fitted with batteries to allow them to operate over the short-distance of non-electrified quayside lines at Dover and Folkestone. The batteries allowed the units to be used at low-speed for 20–30 minutes, and could be recharged when the unit was taking power from 750 V DC third-rail. By 1963, it was discovered that one luggage carriage was insufficient for the boat train service. Some trains were operated with paired MLVs, which resulted in a shortage of the vehicles. To overcome the problem, six Trailer Luggage Vans (TLV) were introduced in 1968 and kept in use alongside the MLVs until 1975. These were numbered 68201-68206 as Class 499 and were conventional BG carriages, except for having their gangway ends sealed from use. The MLVs were withdrawn from traffic in 1991-92, with the closure of

Dover Western Docks railway station Dover, Kent has had numerous railway stations due to the legacy of competition between the South Eastern Railway (SER) and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) and the subsequent rationalisation attempts by their successors: the South Easte ...

and the end of the boat train services.

Prototype

The design of the units was based on an earlier vehicle, numbered 68000, which was used as a parcels van on the Tyneside DC electrified network. When the South Tyneside network was de-electrified in 1967, the unit was initially transferred for use on the Southport to Liverpool electric line before being withdrawn.

Departmental service

After withdrawal from normal service, the entire fleet was transferred to departmental service as Class 931 tractor units. Unit 9006 was damaged in an accident at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...

in 1994, resulting in it being withdrawn and subsequently scrapped. Units 9003 and 9009 were specially repainted in BR Blue and LSE "Jaffa Cake" liveries, by staff at depot, to commemorate the closure of the depot in 1995. Most of the units were withdrawn again in 1997. They were kept at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

depot, while they were waiting for disposal. While there, units 9001 and 9002 stayed in use as depot shunters. Unit 9001 was retired in 1998, and subsequently preserved. Unit 9002 was kept by South West Trains until 2004, when former 4CEP unit 1512 replaced it.

Preservation

All but two of the units have been preserved. One unit was scrapped after an accident whilst in service, and the other was scrapped in preservation. The first unit to be preserved was first-built no. 9001, which was saved in 1998 after a campaign by the EPB Preservation Group. It was bought to power the group's preserved 2EPB unit, no. 5759. The units dumped at

were put out to tender in 1999, and were bought mainly for use as storage vehicles. Their ability to move under battery-power has also allowed limited passenger use. The final unit to be saved was no. 9002, which has now been stored at Southall. After extensive overhaul at Southall 9002 ventured back onto the main line on 28 August 2015 when it was hauled by Battle Of Britain Class 34067 ''Tangmere'' to Ramsgate Depot for an open day, it returned a day later but has not been out since. The table below gives details of the current () locations and fates of the Class 419 units.

Fleet details

Models

OO gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard-gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to 1 foot, ...

model of the Class 419 MLV has been produced by Bachmann Branchline.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

The Southern E-Group page on the Class 419s or MLVs.EPB Preservation Group - owners of preserved units 9001 and 9002.Eden Valley Railway - owners of preserved units 9003 and 9005.
{{British Rail EMU 419 Non-passenger multiple units Train-related introductions in 1959 750 V DC multiple units