The British Rail Class 424 "Networker Classic" was a prototype electric multiple unit (EMU) built in 1997 by Adtranz at

Derby Litchurch Lane Works Derby Litchurch Lane Works (formerly Derby Carriage and Wagon Works) is a railway rolling stock factory in Derby, England. It was opened in the 19th century by the Midland Railway. The plant has produced rolling stock under the ownership of the ...

from a Class 421 driving trailer vehicle.

Project

The "Networker Classic" concept involved rebuilding

Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts conta ...

design Southern Region EMUs of Classes

411 411 may refer to: * The year AD 411, the four hundred and eleventh year of the Gregorian calendar * 411 BC * 4-1-1, a telephone directory assistance number in the United States and Canada ** By extension, a slang term for "information" * ''What's t ...

421 __NOTOC__ Year 421 ( CDXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius (or, less frequently, year 117 ...

and

423 __NOTOC__ Year 423 ( CDXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marinianus and Asclepiodotus (or, less frequently, year ...

to meet current

crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...

standards and have electric sliding doors instead of slam doors. This involved building a new bodyshell on the existing chassis, but keeping the original electrical and motor equipment. Therefore, the aim was to produce a 'new' unit at one quarter the cost of manufacturing a train from scratch. The rebuilt units would have had a life of at least fifteen years, thus saving considerable amounts of money when replacing old stock. The unit is known for its similar looks with the British Rail Class 168 and the

British Rail Class 357 The British Rail Class 357 ''Electrostar'' alternating current (AC) electric multiple units (EMUs) were built by Adtranz at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works, England, in two batches from 1999 to 2002 at a cost of approximately £292 million. Th ...

, albeit using pocket doors more similar to the class subsequent classes

376 __NOTOC__ Year 376 (Roman numerals, CCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valens and Augustus (or, less frequently, ...

and 378, and unlike said trains used pocket doors for the driver cab doors, like those of the 1972 design and earlier Mark 3-derived units.

Prototype

One vehicle, no. 76112 from 'Phase 1' 4Cig unit 1749 was rebuilt as a prototype in 1997. This saw the original Mark 1 bodyshell removed from the chassis at

Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as The Plant''", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough. Until 1867 it u ...

, and replaced with a new one at

resembling a then brand new Turbostar train installed. The controls from the 4Cig unit were retained in the driving cab. It was displayed to the public at

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 ...

, paired with unrebuilt DT 76747 from 4Big unit 2256 for comparison purposes. The converted vehicle had a total capacity of 77 passengers in Standard Class only; had the full 4-car unit undergone the same conversion, then it would have had capacity for up to 310 passengers. The prototype unit had not carried passengers throughout its life, as the electric controls were unsuitable for the Class 424. Although

Connex South Central Connex South Central was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Central franchise from 26 May 1996 until 25 August 2001. History On 26 May 1996, Connex commenced operating the Network SouthCent ...

had at one stage proposed ordering some, the train companies turned to new-build rolling stock, which saw the introduction of the ''

Electrostar The Bombardier Electrostar (sold as the ADtranz Electrostar until 2001) is a family of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation (formerly ADtranz) at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England bet ...

'', '' Desiro'' and '' Juniper'' families. As a result, the single Class 424 vehicle was stored at Derby Litchurch Lane Works until 2012, when it was removed for disposal. The unrebuilt 4Cig trailer (unit 1399), which paired with the vehicle, was scrapped from the

East Kent Railway The East Kent Railway (EKR) was an early railway operating between Strood and Faversham in Kent, England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a ...

after attempts of restoration failed.

Fleet Details

References

External links

Experimental Class 424, "Adtranz Classic"
- Southern Electric Group *

at

in August 2011 {{British Rail EMU 424 Abandoned trains of the United Kingdom Train-related introductions in 1997 750 V DC multiple units Non-passenger multiple units