British Rail Class 77
| British Rail Class 77 | |
|---|---|
NS 1500 Class |
The
Manchester and Sheffield
.
Description
Seven locomotives of this type were constructed. They represented the first
Woodhead Line
would be an isolated electric system. Consequently, the order was cut to just seven locomotives.
Manchester Piccadilly
in 1967The locomotives were initially numbered 27000-27006 and were painted in BR black livery. Construction took place at
Gorton Works, Manchester with electrical equipment supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers. All seven were named after characters from Greek mythology in 1959–1960. They were primarily used for express passenger trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield Victoria. To heat the carriages, the locomotives were each fitted with a Bastian & Allen electrically-powered steam generator rated at 360 kW, which provided steam at a rate of 1,000 lb/h (450 kg/h) and a pressure of 61 to 65 lbf/sq in (420 to 450 kPa). This was supplied from a water tank holding 350 imp gal (1,600 L), sufficient for two hours operation.[1]
In 1957, the class was renumbered with the addition of an "E" prefix to the number. In the early 1960s, the class started to receive the standard BR green livery. At least one of the class, E27002, received the electric blue livery carried by the AC electric locomotives.
The class was withdrawn en masse in September 1968. They were stored at
Woodhead Line was closed as a through route in 1981, leaving just stubs between Manchester Piccadilly and Hadfield in the West and Sheffield Victoria and Deepcar in the East.[2]
Forty more powerful 46 class electric locomotives were built by Metropolitan-Vickers in the mid-1950s for the New South Wales Government Railways.[3] The 46 class was based on the EM1 and EM2.
Further use
NS 1500 Class
no. 1505 at Manchester Museum of Science and IndustryIn September 1969 the entire class was sold to the Dutch national railway operator
NS 1500 Class. They were renumbered in the 1500 series in the order they left their workshops, where they received various modifications, including new headlight clusters. The locomotives also retained their names. One locomotive, no. E27005 Minerva was broken up and used for spares. The remaining six locomotives were employed until final withdrawal in 1985. Their main work was on The Hague—Cologne express trains as far as the border at Venlo although they travelled to their home depot at Maastricht either with a train or light engine on Sunday for their weekly examination before returning to traffic the following day. They were sometimes to be found on freight trains bound for the German border originating in the Rotterdam area.[2]
Fleet details
| Key: | Preserved | Scrapped |
|---|
| BR number | NS number | Name [4] |
Disposal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1957 | |||
| 27000 | E27000 | 1502 | Electra | Preserved at Midland Railway - Butterley
|
| 27001 | E27001 | 1505 | Ariadne | Preserved at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester |
| 27002 | E27002 | 1506 | Aurora | Scrapped (02/1985) |
| 27003 | E27003 | 1501 | Diana | Preserved in the Utrecht Railway Museum by Werkgroep 1501 |
| 27004 | E27004 | 1503 | Juno | Scrapped (10/1986) |
| 27005 | E27005 | - | Minerva | Used for parts by NS. Scrapped (11/1969) |
| 27006 | E27006 | 1504 | Pandora | Scrapped (02/1985) |
References
- ISBN 0-901115-66-5.
- ^ a b "LNER Encyclopedia: The LNER Electric Co-Co Class EM2 (BR Class 77) Locomotives".
- ^ Singleton, C.C. (October 1956). "The 46-Class Electric Locomotive". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 142–144.
- ^ Ian Allan ABC British Railways locomotives. Shepperton: Ian Allan. 1962. p. 248.
Further reading
- Hooper, John (2014). EM1 & EM2: An Illustrated Historical Review of the Manchester, Sheffield, Wath, Electric Locomotives - 76s & 77s. Book Law Publications. OCLC 922549032.
- McManus, Michael. Ultimate Allocations, British Railways Locomotives 1948 - 1968. Wirral. Michael McManus.
- Ward, David (January 1986). "EM2 Twilight". OCLC 49957965.
- "The Tommies Rock-On into History". OCLC 49957965.
- Ward, David (December 1986). "Homeward Bound". OCLC 49957965.
- Ward, David (September 1988). "BR and NS EM2s on the move". OCLC 49953699.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Class 77.