SR Class 6Pul
| SR Class 6Pul | |
|---|---|
| Specifications | |
| Braking system(s) | Air |
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designations 6Pul, 6Cit and 6Pan to electric multiple units built to work the routes between London and Brighton, West Worthing and Eastbourne. None of these units survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated a TOPS class number. The 6Pul units were designated 6Cor until 1935 (the Cor designation was later used for 4Cor units).
Prototype cars 11001-11002
Coach numbers 11001 and 11002 were prototype driving motor brake vehicles for the mainline stock that was being developed for the London to Brighton electrification. The first was built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon company and the second by Metropolitan Cammell. Both were introduced in October 1931, and ran with three trailers converted from former London and South Western Railway carriages as unit number 2001.
After trials with this unit had been completed the set was disbanded, and the two prototype driving cars were reformed into 6Cit units 2041 and 2042 respectively. Unit number 2001 was then reused for one of the production 6Pul units.
Construction
The 6Pul (6-car Pullman stock, numbers 2001-2020) and 6Cit (6-car City stock, numbers 2041-2043) units were built in 1932 to provide high quality accommodation on the newly-electrified London to Brighton route. Units of both types each included a Pullman composite kitchen car, which were built by Metropolitan Cammell and numbered 256 to 278 in the Pullman Car Company series.
The 6Cit units differed from the 6Pul units only in that the three trailers other than the Pullman car had all first class accommodation. They were dedicated for use on the London Bridge to Brighton route (as opposed to the London Victoria route on which the 6Pul units were used), and were intended for the trains used by City workers, hence their designation.
The 6Pan (6-car Pantry unis, numbers 2021-2037) units were introduced in 1935, upon the extension of the electrified network to Ore. They were similar to the 6Pul units, except that the Pullman car was replaced by a first class dining car with a pantry. From this time, 12-car trains were often formed from one of each type.
Until the arrival of the 6Pan units, the 6Pul units had been referred to as 6Cor (6-car Corridor stock) and, as explained below, the designation Cor was again used by this stock in later years for various reasons. The numbers of all three types of unit were revised in January 1937 from 20xx to 30xx.
Formations
Initial formations of these units were as follows (coaches were not formed in numerical order):
| Units | Type | DMBTO | Trailer | Trailer | Trailer | Trailer | DMBTO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-2020
(later 3001-3020) |
6Pul | 11003 to 11045
(odds bar 11015/41) |
TTK 10001 to 10020 | TCK 11751 to 11789 (odds) | TPCK Pullman Car (see below) | TCK 11752 to 11790 (evens) | 11004 to 11046
(evens bar 11016/42) |
| 2021-2037
(later 3021-3037) |
6Pan | 11047 to 11079 (odds) | TTK 10021 to 10053 (odds) | TFK 12260 to 12276 | TFKP 12501 to 12517 | TTK 10022 to 10054 (evens) | 11048 to 11080 (evens) |
| 2041-2043
(later 3041-3043) |
6Cit | 11001, 11002, 11015 | TFK 12251, 12254, 12257 | TFK 12252, 12255, 12258 | TPCK Pullman Car (See below) | TFK 12253, 12256, 12259 | 11041, 11042, 11016 |
The Pullman cars used in these sets were numbered and named as follows:
| Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 | Anne | 3001 | 256 | Rita | 3002 | 257 | Grace | 3003 | 260 | Elinor | 3004 | |||
| 263 | Ida | 3005 | 265 | Rose | 3006 | 266 | Violet | 3007 | 277 | Lorna | 3008 | |||
| 271 | Alice | 3009 | 274 | Daisy | 3010 | 276 | Naomi | 3011 | 278 | Bertha | 3012 | |||
| 258 | Brenda | 3013 | 259 | Enid | 3014 | 261 | Joyce | 3015 | 262 | Iris | 3016 | |||
| 264 | Ruth | 3017 | 267 | May | 3018 | 268 | Peggy | 3019 | 269 | Clara | 3020 | |||
| 272 | Gwladys | 3041 | 273 | Olive | 3042 | 270 | Ethel | 3043 |
Reformations and conversions
Between May 1942 and May 1946, the Pullman cars in these units were withdrawn and stored at the Pullman workshopes in Brighton. This was part of the general withdrawal of Pullman and other restaurant and dining cars from railway stock during World War II. During this period, the 6Pul and 6 Cit stock were referred to as 5Cor. When the Pullman cars were returned to service, not all were inserted into the same units that they had been in before the war. Those that were reformed were:
| Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | Number | Name | Unit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 | Anne | 3012 | 256 | Rita | 3043 | 278 | Bertha | 3001 | 264 | Ruth | 3042 | |||
| 267 | May | 3041 | 272 | Gwladys | 3017 | 273 | Olive | 3002 | 270 | Ethel | 3018 |
During 1947 and 1948, the three 6Cit units were converted to standard 6Pul units by reclassifying their three Trailer First vehicles into a Trailer Third (numbered 10113-10115) and two Trailer Composites (11862-11867).
After the 6Pul and 6Pan units were disbanded, many of the carriages continued to run in service together with former 4Res and 4Cor stock. These reformed units were classified either 4Pul, 4Cor, 4Cor(N), 6Cor or 6TC.
| Units | Type | Period used | Formed from | Trailers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 601 | 6TC | 1965-1967 | Cor/Pan/Pul cars | TTK/TCK/TTK/TTK |
| 3041-3050 | 6Cor | 1965-1966 | Pan/Pul cars | TTK/TTK/TFK/TTK |
| 3054-3059 | 4Pul | 1964-1968 | 6Pul Pullman kitchen in Res unit | TFK/TPCK |
| 3065-3071 | 4Cor(N) | 1964-1969 | 6Pul Trailer Third in Res unit | TFK/TTK |
| 3159-3168 | 4Cor | 1965-1969 | Pan/Pul/Res cars | TFK/TTK |
6TC
The 6TC unit was formed in 1965 to trial push-pull equipment that would allow a diesel locomotive to be operated remotely from the driving cab in the multiple unit. It was comprised of former 4Cor driving motor cars, which had their motors removed and the end gangways removed, and 6Pan/6Pul trailer cars. At the same time a Class 33 locomotive was modified to work with the unit.
From early 1966, the experimental train was used on the Oxted line, and was later transferred to the Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia service. The trials were successful, and led to the production of the 3TC and 4TC units for working the Bournemouth line with Class 33/1 locomotives. However, the 6TC unit had a short life, and was withdrawn after incurring accident damage.
Withdrawal and further use
After withdrawal from passenger service, the underframes of several Pul and Pan unit carriages were reused by the engineering department as long-welded rail carriers and crane runners.
Former 6Pul Pullman cars 264 Ruth and 278 Bertha have been preserved, and are now used as ordinary locomotive-hauled Pullman cars. Number 264 is part of the Venice Simplon Orient Express fleet, working charter trains on the main line, while 278 is on the Swanage Railway. Former 6Pul Trailer Composite car, number 11773, was preserved on the Swanage Railway for many years, but fell into bad condition and has now been scrapped.