British Rail Class 442

British Rail Class 442
Wessex Electrics
South Western Railway Class 442 train near Shawford in 2019
Interior of train
Standard-class saloon of an SWR-refurbished unit
In service1988 – March 2020
ManufacturerBritish Rail Engineering Limited
Order no.
  • 31030 (DTF vehicles)
  • 31031 (DTS vehicles)
  • 31032 (TS(A) vehicles)
  • 31033 (TS(B) vehicles)
  • 31034 (MBLS vehicles)[1]
Built atDerby Litchurch Lane Works
Family nameMark 3
Replaced
Constructed1987–1989
Refurbished
  • 2008–2009 (Gatwick Express)
  • 2017–2018 (SWR)
Scrapped2020 – 2021
Number built24
Number scrapped24
(except 1 preserved DTS vehicle)[2]
Successor
Formation
  • 5 cars per unit;
  • As built:
  • DTF-TS(A)-MBLS-TS(B)-DTS
  • As refurbished by SWR:[3]
  • DTSO(A)-TSO-MBC-TSOW-DTSO(B)
Diagram
  • DTF vehicles: EE160
  • TS(A) vehicles: EH288
  • MBLS vehicles: ED265
  • TS(B) vehicles: EH289
  • DTS vehicles: EE273[4][1]
Design code5-WES
Fleet numbers442401–442424
Capacity
  • As built: 300 seats[1] (50 first class, 250 standard)
  • SWT: 316 seats (50 first class, 266 standard)
  • GX: 346 seats (24 first class, 322 standard)
  • SWR: 336 seats (32 first class, 304 standard)
OwnersAngel Trains
Operators
Depots
Lines served
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel[1]
Car length22.570 m (74 ft 0.6 in)[1]
Width2.740 m (8 ft 11.9 in)[1]
Height3.810 m (12 ft 6.0 in)[1]
DoorsSingle-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)[5]
WheelbaseOver bogie centres: 16.000 m (52 ft 5.9 in)[1]
Maximum speed100 mph (160 km/h)[1]
Weight
  • MBLS: 51 tonnes (50 long tons; 56 short tons)
  • Trailers: 34 tonnes (33 long tons; 37 short tons)[1]
Traction motors4 × English Electric EE546,
each of 300 kW (400 hp)[5]
Power output1,200 kW (1,610 hp)[5]
HVACAir conditioning[1]
Electric system(s)750 V DC third rail[1]
Current collector(s)Contact shoe
UIC classification2′2′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′
Bogies
  • Powered: BREL P7-3
  • Unpowered: BREL T3-7[1]
Minimum turning radius90 m (295 ft 3 in)[1]
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic[1]
Safety system(s)
Coupling systemDrop-head Buckeye[6]
Multiple workingWithin class, and with locomotives of Classes 33/1 and 73/1[3][4]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge

The British Rail Class 442 (5-WES) Wessex Electrics were electric multiple unit passenger trains introduced in 1988 by Network SouthEast on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth to coincide with the electrification of the line from Bournemouth. Twenty-four five-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Derby Litchurch Lane Works.

Following the privatisation of British Rail, the fleet was sold to Angel Trains and operated by South West Trains up until February 2007, when they were replaced by Class 444 and Class 450s. After a period in storage, they were leased to Southern for use on Gatwick Express services from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton. The units were withdrawn from Gatwick Express services in 2016 and from Southern peak-hour London Bridge to Brighton and Eastbourne services in March 2017.

From 2019, eighteen were leased by South Western Railway and were refurbished for use on London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour services. However they were again withdrawn in March 2020 due to services being reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, South Western Railway purchased all 18 from Angel Trains, stripped the fleet of their recently refurbished equipment for parts and scrapped them.

The class holds the world speed record for a third-rail train, having attained 109 mph (175 km/h) on a test run prior to entering service.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Vehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electric Multiple Units (including A.P.T.) (PDF). Derby: Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Department, British Railways Board. ED265, EE160, EE273, EH288, EH289 (in work pp. 126–129, 196–197, 364–367). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via Barrowmore MRG.
  2. ^ "Future of Class 442 driving coach secured". Railways Illustrated. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Marsden, Colin J. (2011). Traction Recognition (2nd ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-71103-494-5.
  4. ^ a b Fox, Peter (1994). British Railways Pocket Book No. 4: Electric Multiple Units (7th ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-87252-460-3.
  5. ^ a b c "Class 442". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles in support of GM/RT2190 (PDF). London: Rail Safety and Standards Board. 22 June 2011. p. 4. SD001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2022.