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Although the
railway network Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
has some of the smallest
loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
s in the world, the vast bulk of it is still capable of operating full sized vehicles. However,
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 ...
, together with its predecessors and successors have, on occasion, been required to operate passenger trains to an even smaller loading gauge and have, as a consequence, obtained rolling stock identical to that of the "deep tube" lines of
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
; these are lines built using the
tunneling shield A tunnelling shield is a protective structure used during the excavation of large, man-made tunnels. When excavating through ground that is soft, liquid, or otherwise unstable, there is a potential Occupational safety and health, health and safet ...
method, that were, by necessity, smaller than those lines built using the
cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
method. In 1892, a Parliamentary Committee headed by
James Stansfeld Sir James Stansfeld, (; 5 March 182017 February 1898) was a British Radical and Liberal politician and social reformer who served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1866), Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1869–71) and President of ...
recommended that such lines be in tunnels with a minimum diameter of 11 ft 6in. Two routes operated by British Rail required the use of such deep-tube rolling stock, the
Waterloo & City Line The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a London Underground shuttle line that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampsh ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and the
Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...
on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
.


Waterloo & City Line

The
Waterloo & City line The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a London Underground shuttle line that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampsh ...
was originally built to serve as a link between the terminus of the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
at
Waterloo 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 ...
, on the
South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...
of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, and the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
.John C Gillham, ''The Waterloo & City Railway'', The Oakwood Press, Usk, 2001, Owing to restrictions on the building of railway lines through the centre of London, it was necessary to build this link as an
underground railway The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
, with it becoming London's second deep-tube (after the opening of the
City & South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing ...
). As a consequence of the diameter of the tunnels (), new bespoke trains had to be built which began the service upon its opening in 1898, and continued until 1940.


Class 487

In 1937, the management of the Southern Railway, which had responsibility for the Waterloo & City Line, began the process of procuring new rolling stock. Despite the advent of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, this was too far advanced to be halted, and the new trains were delivered from the
English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...
factory at
Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
during 1940, officially entering service on 28 October of that year.> The trains remained in service through the nationalisation of the Southern as part of
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 ...
in 1948, when the Waterloo & City became part of the Southern Region, and then "Sectorisation" as part of the London & South Eastern sector (renamed "Network SouthEast" in 1986). Under the Total Operations Processing System introduced in the late 1960s, the units were initially classed as Class 453, before being renumbered as Class 487. These trains were finally replaced upon the procurement of 10 new sets in 1993.


Class 482

To replace the 1940 vintage rolling stock, Network SouthEast began the process to obtain new trains in mid-1989. Eventually, a decision was taken to purchase ten 2-car sets identical to the new fleet being built to operate on London Underground's Central line. Delivery of the new sets, which were given the TOPS code Class 482, began in early 1993, with the full fleet entering service on 19 July of that year. In 1994, as part of the process of
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of British Rail, the Waterloo & City line, which up to then was the only deep tube line in London not under the control of
London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...
, was transferred to the operational control of London Underground, whereupon it became fully part of the Underground network, meaning that following this point the Class 482 units were no longer part of the national network, after which they were referred to as part of LU's fleet of 1992 Stock trains.


Island Line

Up until the mid-1960s, the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
had an extensive network of railways covering the whole island. However, between 1952 and 1966, all routes except the line between
Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
and
Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake ...
were closed. This stretch was closed between January and March 1967 to allow for both the electrification of the entire route, major rebuilding of two stations, and the raising of the
trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...
in Ryde Tunnel to reduce the risk of flooding. However, raising the trackbed meant that clearances in the tunnel were below the minimum required for full-sized trains. As a consequence, the Southern Region elected to purchase redundant rolling stock from London Underground, which met the clearance requirements of the tunnel.


Class 485 and 486

Upon the electrification of the Ryde-Shanklin route, British Rail purchased a total of 12 units of withdrawn rolling stock from London Underground, formed into six 4-car and six 3-car sets. Initially, it had been planned to convert them into DEMUs, until the electrification plan was agreed on. These units had originally been operated as LU's "Standard" Stock on the
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
,
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
and
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
s. As a consequence, they needed to be converted to operate on the Southern Region's
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
system. Once this was complete, and the vehicles were fully overhauled, they were shipped to the island, where they entered service on 20 March 1967. Initially, they were given standard Southern Region codes as 4-Vec and 3-Tis. Upon the introduction of TOPS, they were given Class 451 and 452, before finally receiving the classifications Class 485 and 486. The proximity to the sea led to the units suffering badly from salt corrosion, and by the 1980s it was recognized that they would need replacing urgently. Once the decision was taken to procure replacements, Network SouthEast were offered a number of vehicles of
1938 Stock The London Underground 1938 Stock was a London Underground tube stock design. A total of 1,121 cars were built by Metro-Cammell and Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, Birmingham RC&W. An additional 173 cars were added to the fle ...
, then being withdrawn from service on the Northern Line, for use on the island. This eventually saw the Class 485 and Class 486 trains finally withdrawn from service by February 1991.


Class 483

Prior to the procurement of what eventually became Class 483, British Rail had considered purchasing redundant vehicles of 1938 Stock for use on the Isle of Wight in 1973, but had not gone through with this plan, owing to the more advanced nature of these units as compared with Standard Stock. The 1938 Stock had its traction equipment along the bottom of each vehicle, which was believed to be vulnerable to salt spray, and which would need significant adaptations to the depot in order to access (the Standard Stock had its traction equipment fitted in a compartment in the Driving Motor vehicles). A total of eight 2-car units of 1938 Stock were overhauled and converted to operate on the Isle of Wight, being given the TOPS code Class 483. The first of these entered passenger service in October 1989, with all being in traffic by July 1990. Two more units, one refurbished for traffic, and another for use as a source of spares, were transported to the island in 1992. Since then, three of the running units have been withdrawn, leaving a total of six available in service. As of January 2021, these were the oldest operating passenger trains on the entire national railway network, having entered service on London Underground in 1938. In September 2019, it was announced that the remaining Class 483 trains would be replaced beginning in the summer of 2020 by a fleet of five newly procured units. These would be sourced from
Vivarail Vivarail is a British rolling stock manufacturer, founded in 2012 and based in Southam. Vivarail's main project is the conversion of retired London Underground D78 Stock into two new classes for National Rail services. It was led by former Chil ...
, a company set up to refurbish redundant D78 Stock vehicles, previously used by London Underground on the
District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...
, for use on the National Rail network. Unlike the Class 483s, the new s would be full-sized trains, it having been determined that the clearances in Ryde Tunnel were adequate for them to be used.Isle of Wight line’s future secured with £26m investment
''
Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport p ...
'' 16 September 2019
The Class 483 units were finally withdrawn from service on 3 January 2021.


References


Works cited

* {{British Rail EMU Multiple units of Great Britain