LNWR electric units

See also: Suburban electrification of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

LNWR electric units (LMS 1927 compartment stock)
LNWR EMU Motor Car at National Railway Museum, York
In service	1927–1960
Manufacturer	Metropolitan Cammell
Formation	Power car + trailer + driving trailer
Operator	London, Midland and Scottish Railway, British Railways
Specifications
Traction system	Four 280 hp (209 kW) traction motors
Power output	1,120 hp (835 kW)
Electric system(s)	630 V DC
Current collection method	Third and fourth rail
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Oerlikon electric train at Harrow and Wealdstone, 11 March 1956

During 1909-1922 the London and North Western Railway embarked on a project to electrify their London inner-suburban network, encompassing the lines from London Euston to Watford and the North London Railway from London Broad Street to Richmond, including branch lines such as Watford to Croxley Green (where a depot was built to house the electric units), and links to what was to become the London Underground network. For this reason, the lines were electrified at 630 V DC fourth rail, the electricity being generated at the LNWR's power station in Stonebridge Park. The first electric passenger trains ran in 1914, on the West London Line route (Willesden to Earls Court), but full services over the whole network did not commence until 1922, work having been delayed by the First World War. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway extended the network in 1927, by electrifying the branch to Rickmansworth.

The electric units

The LNWR placed orders for three-car electric multiple units from Metropolitan-Cammell in Birmingham. These units were formed Driving Motor Brake Third (DMBT) + Trailer Composite (TC) + Driving Trailer Brake Third (DTBT). All the cars were open saloons and the electrical equipment was in a compartment behind the driving cab in the DMBT.

The units were delivered in three batches. The first batch, introduced in 1914, was fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens of Germany. Due to the War, the following two batches, introduced in 1915 and 1921, used equipment from Oerlikon of Switzerland.

1927 Driving Motor Brake Third with Metropolitan Vickers equipment

In 1927, the LMS ordered a further batch of units from Metropolitan-Cammell to cover additional passenger services. These were broadly similar to the earlier units, but this time were fitted with more powerful Metropolitan Vickers (owned by GEC) electrical equipment. Also, the passenger accommodation was in compartments.

Numbering

The LMS numbers of the Siemens stock were:

• DMBT, 28219–28222

The LMS numbers of the Oerlikon stock were:

• DMBT, 28000, 28223–28299 (282236 is missing from the list in the source)

The British Railways numbers of the 1927 compartment stock were:

• DMBT (later Motor Brake Second), M28001M–M28025M
• TC (later Trailer Second), M29401M–M29409M and M29600M–M29625M
• DTBT (later Driving Trailer Brake Second), M28800M–M28824M

Operation

The LNWR electric lines built up to a substantial operation, at its peak in the 1930s-50s period, and then ran into a major decline.

The two basic main services were Euston to Watford Junction, and Broad Street to Richmond, the latter passing over the former at Willesden Junction station. In addition there was a substantial operation of Broad Street to Watford Junction trains via Primrose Hill, which shared significant sections of both main routes.

There were lesser branches from Willesden Junction to Earls Court (closed in WW2), Watford to Rickmansworth (closed in 1952) and Watford to Croxley Green (closed in 1990). The Earls Court route was the normal operation for the four pioneer Siemens-equipped trains.

In an early 1950s timetable there were substantial peak period electric services on the main routes. Departing between 5pm and 6pm there were four trains in the hour on Broad Street to Richmond (the “North London line”), five in the hour on Euston to Watford (the “DC line”), and seven in the hour on Broad Street to Watford. All these were scheduled for 6-car trains. A small number of the peak hour Watford line trains were operated at the northern end directly to Croxley Green instead of to Watford Junction. In addition certain trains from the Bakerloo Line of the Underground ran over the line from Queens Park to Harrow & Wealdstone or Watford Junction. The services were not on a particularly regular interval basis as there was the need for them to interleave with many other operations, and each other; in addition some trains were on a semi-fast basis, or skipped certain stations.

The Croxley and Rickmansworth lines were normally operated by 3-car shuttle trains. The pre-war Earls Court trains had been similar.

The combined frequency of the electric trains from South Hampstead to Watford was thus about every five minutes, and the through Bakerloo trains were additional to this. This very substantial operation (compared to later years) was behind the installation of the pioneer automated signalling system in 1933, which lasted until 1988 when replaced by a conventional system, by which time services were substantially reduced. The 1933 signalling system had allowed scheduled headways of two mnutes on the route.

Withdrawal

The Siemens stock were stored during World War II due to the closure of the West London Line route to passenger trains following bomb damage. In 1952, they were converted as prototype 25 kV AC overhead EMUs (Class AM1). These units survived in use on the Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham line until 1966.

The Oerlikon and GEC stock survived in service in North London through to the late 1950s and early 1960s respectively, when they were replaced by the new Class 501 units. Only one car survives, Oerlikon-equipped DMBT 28249, at the National Railway Museum, York.

Sources

• Ian Allan ABC of Southern and LMS Electrics, 1945 edition, page 33
• Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, winter 1962/3 edition, page 324