Southport Chapel Street Class 503 EMU 28690. June 28th 1986
The same day as the previous image and ex LMS 1938 3-car Class 503 'Wirral Unit' 28690 sits at Southport Chapel Street. They generally ran in 6-car formations, first class accommodation was in the centre trailing car and these were the first British EMU's to have air operated doors, June 28th 1986.
*The class was replaced by the 507 and 508 EMU.
The Class 503s were progressively withdrawn from June 1984, the final service train running on 29 March 1985.
This was followed by a farewell tour on 13 April 1985.
Cars 28672, 29271 and 29702 had been used as a Sandite unit on the Northern Line after initial withdrawal in 1981.
Some units were scrapped at Cavendish sidings on the Birkenhead Dock Branch line, whilst others were scrapped at the nearby Mollington Street depot. The remainder were scrapped at Alexandra Dock, BREL Horwich and also in Northwich, mainly under contract to Vic Berry, TW Ward and HP Cartwright.
A single set, formed of vehicles 28690, 29720 and 29289, was earmarked for preservation. This was the last of the units built in 1938 to have been brought into service.
The unit is also one of the only two pre-war main line EMUs in existence which are still in original formation, the other being the 2-BIL belonging to the National Railway Museum.
The set was kept in serviceable condition and operated occasional special trains on the Merseyrail network until 1988. During this period, the set was used for the opening of the electrified line between Rock Ferry and Hooton on 30 September 1985 and for special services during Christmas 1985. At the same time, Merseyrail decided not to preserve a second set, due to a lack of spares. Following this, the surviving set participated in the Merseyrail 100 celebration on 6 April 1986. was purchased by Wirral Borough Council in 1991 and stored at Kirkdale until 1996.
Two parts of the set were then sold and kept at Steamport, Southport. Meanwhile, the Driving Trailer coach (DTS) was kept at the Wirral Transport Museum. The two parts of the unit, which were sold, have been owned by the Suburban Electric Railway Association since purchase by its forerunner, the Mersey and Tyneside Electric Preservationists in 1996 and were stored at the Electric Railway Museum on the outskirts of Coventry. After transport of the Driving Trailer coach from Birkenhead, the entire unit was correctly reformed at the Coventry museum in October 2010, for the first time in over 20 years The Driving Motor coach (DMBS) interior was open to the public during museum open days.
In 2017, the Electric Railway Museum announced that it would be forced to close and relocate its collection. The Class 503 set was moved in May 2018, to the Locomotive Storage Ltd facility in the former Hornby Railways warehouse in Margate.
Southport Chapel Street Class 503 EMU 28690. June 28th 1986
The same day as the previous image and ex LMS 1938 3-car Class 503 'Wirral Unit' 28690 sits at Southport Chapel Street. They generally ran in 6-car formations, first class accommodation was in the centre trailing car and these were the first British EMU's to have air operated doors, June 28th 1986.
*The class was replaced by the 507 and 508 EMU.
The Class 503s were progressively withdrawn from June 1984, the final service train running on 29 March 1985.
This was followed by a farewell tour on 13 April 1985.
Cars 28672, 29271 and 29702 had been used as a Sandite unit on the Northern Line after initial withdrawal in 1981.
Some units were scrapped at Cavendish sidings on the Birkenhead Dock Branch line, whilst others were scrapped at the nearby Mollington Street depot. The remainder were scrapped at Alexandra Dock, BREL Horwich and also in Northwich, mainly under contract to Vic Berry, TW Ward and HP Cartwright.
A single set, formed of vehicles 28690, 29720 and 29289, was earmarked for preservation. This was the last of the units built in 1938 to have been brought into service.
The unit is also one of the only two pre-war main line EMUs in existence which are still in original formation, the other being the 2-BIL belonging to the National Railway Museum.
The set was kept in serviceable condition and operated occasional special trains on the Merseyrail network until 1988. During this period, the set was used for the opening of the electrified line between Rock Ferry and Hooton on 30 September 1985 and for special services during Christmas 1985. At the same time, Merseyrail decided not to preserve a second set, due to a lack of spares. Following this, the surviving set participated in the Merseyrail 100 celebration on 6 April 1986. was purchased by Wirral Borough Council in 1991 and stored at Kirkdale until 1996.
Two parts of the set were then sold and kept at Steamport, Southport. Meanwhile, the Driving Trailer coach (DTS) was kept at the Wirral Transport Museum. The two parts of the unit, which were sold, have been owned by the Suburban Electric Railway Association since purchase by its forerunner, the Mersey and Tyneside Electric Preservationists in 1996 and were stored at the Electric Railway Museum on the outskirts of Coventry. After transport of the Driving Trailer coach from Birkenhead, the entire unit was correctly reformed at the Coventry museum in October 2010, for the first time in over 20 years The Driving Motor coach (DMBS) interior was open to the public during museum open days.
In 2017, the Electric Railway Museum announced that it would be forced to close and relocate its collection. The Class 503 set was moved in May 2018, to the Locomotive Storage Ltd facility in the former Hornby Railways warehouse in Margate.