Class 316 and Class 457 were

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 ...

classifications assigned to a single electric multiple unit (EMU) at different stages of its use as a prototype for the Networker series.

Project

In the late 1980s, the

Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the net ...

division of British Rail, which operated the railway network in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

, started to develop a new standard train, known as the '' Networker''. To test out the technical arrangements for the ''Networker'', a test train was used, converted from former Class 210 carriages, which were built in 1982 by

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 ...

as prototype 'Second Generation' Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU), but were withdrawn after a few years.

Class 457

Initially the test unit was formed for trials on the system of the Southern Region, and was numbered 457001. As with all Southern Region electric multiple units only the last four digits of the unit number were actually carried. The unit formation was:

Class 316

Later, the unit was altered to undertake trials on the

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...

system used on electrified lines north of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The unit was renumbered as a Class 316 unit, number 316999. To enable it to work on the AC electrification, a pantograph trailer from a Class 313 unit 313034 was inserted into the set, replacing one of the intermediate trailers. This spare vehicle (no. 67400) has since been incorporated into a Class 455/9 DC suburban unit, replacing a damaged Trailer Second Open (TSO) vehicle. The unit formation was:

Preservation

After the AC trials were complete, the set was returned to the Southern Region for storage, minus the Class 313 trailer, which returned to its previous formation. The two driving cars were preserved at the

Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire The Electric Railway Museum (formerly the Coventry Railway Centre) was located in Warwickshire, south-east of Coventry, near the village of Baginton. The heritage railway centre was immediately adjacent to Coventry Airport and so it was also kno ...

, one being resold to the

Eversholt Rail Group Eversholt Rail Group is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO). Together with Angel Trains and Porterbrook, it is one of the three original ROSCOs created as a result of the privatisation of British Rail. Eversholt was established in March 1994 ...

and inserted into set 455913 in 2013 after being rebuilt at

Wolverton railway works Wolverton railway works, known locally as Wolverton Works or just The Works, was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the route from London to Birmingham. The line ...

to replace a carriage destroyed in an accident. The vehicle (67301) was converted to a 455 MSO.New Power Car for 5913
Southern Electric Group The remaining intermediate trailer was scrapped. Vehicle details are shown below:

Alternative uses of the Class 316 number

Class 316 was originally reserved in the British Rail Fleet List for an AC EMU for the Piccadilly to Victoria (Picc-Vic) underground line proposed for Manchester in the 1970s. The specifications and some outline design proposals for the new fleet was prepared 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 ...

but never proceeded to tender with the project cancelled. The Class 316 designation was also used in 1992 for a three car Class 307 EMU used as a testbed unit for new traction equipment.

References

External links

* {{British Rail EMU

457 __NOTOC__ Year 457 ( CDLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 1210 ...