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British Rail Class 503
A British Rail Class 503 train in the Liverpool Loop tunnel. This train was one of the original batch built by the LMS in 1938.
The interior of DMBS car 28690 at the Electric Railway Museum, Coventry.
In service
1938–1985
Manufacturer
Metro Cammell, Birmingham RC&W
Replaced
Mersey Railway electric units
Constructed
1938 and 1956
Refurbished
1971 (First class accommodation removed)[1] 1972 (End doors fitted)[1]
Scrapped
1985
Number built
19 full sets (1938)[1]
24 full sets (1956)
2 TS+DTS (1956)[1]
Number preserved
1
Number scrapped
44
Formation
3 cars per trainset:
DMBS+TS+DTS[1]
Diagram
BR EB203 or LMS 344A (DMBS)[2]
BR EH214 or LMS 368A (TS)[2]
BR EE202 or LMS 392A (DTS)[2]
Fleet numbers
28672-28690 (DMBS 1938)
28371-28394 (DMBS 1956)
29702-29720 (TS 1938)
29821-29846 (TS 1956)
29271-29289 (DTS 1938)
29131-29156 (DTS 1956)[3]
Capacity
40 (First class)
141 (Third Class)[4]
Operators
LMS
British Railways
Depots
Birkenhead Central[5][6] Birkenhead North[6][7]
Lines served
Wirral Line (1938–1985)
Northern Line (1977–1981)[8]
Specifications
Train length
176 ft 11 in (53.92 m)[1]
Car length
58 ft 0 in (17.68 m) (DMBS and DTS)[4]
56 ft 0 in (17.07 m) (TS)[4]
Width
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) (less over body, greatest width over footsteps)
Height
11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)[4]
Doors
4 × Twin 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m) electro-pneumatic sliding doors per car[4]
Wheelbase
41 ft 0 in (12.50 m) (Centres of bogies) 7 ft 6 in (2,290 mm) (Bogie)[4]
Maximum speed
65 mph (105 km/h)[2]
Weight
Total: 77 t (76 long tons; 85 short tons)[4]
37 t (36 long tons; 41 short tons) (DMBS)[9]
20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons) (TS)[10]
22 t (22 long tons; 24 short tons) (DTS, 29131-29156)[11]
21 t (21 long tons; 23 short tons) (DTS, 29271-29289)[12]
Traction system
BTH[1][4]
Traction motors
4 × EE[4]
Power output
135 hp (101 kW) per traction motor[4][13]
Total: 540 hp (400 kW)[14]
Tractive effort
4 × 93 hp (69 kW) continuous[4]
Total: 372 hp (277 kW) continuous
HVAC
Electric heating, self-ventilated[4]
Electric system(s)
650 V DC third rail or fourth rail[4]
Current collector(s)
Contact shoe
UIC classification
Bo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′
Bogies
Single bolster[1]
Braking system(s)
Westinghouse electro-pneumatic and straight air brakes
Coupling system
Buckeye (between sets)[4]
Screw (individual cars)[4]
Multiple working
Within class only
Track gauge
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
End doors fitted for tunnel working from 1972.[1]
British Rail Class 503 passenger trains were 65 mph (105 km/h) electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches: the first were in 1938, by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), with a further batch (built to a similar design) in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways (BR). When introduced by the LMS, they were known officially as Class AM3. They were designed for, and operated on, the Wirral & Mersey lines from Liverpool to West Kirby, New Brighton and Rock Ferry. There were few places on their network of closely-spaced stations to attain their maximum speed, except for the open section between Moreton and Meols. All but one set were withdrawn and scrapped by 1985. The final set was used on special Merseyrail services until 1988; it was preserved and kept at the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry, until it moved on to the Locomotive Storage Ltd warehouse at Margate.
^ abcdefghi"Class 503 recognition data". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ abcdVehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electric Multiple Units (Including A.P.T.)(PDF). Derby: British Railways Board. 1981. p. EB203, EE202, EH214. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2014 – via Barrowmore MRG.
^Longworth 2015, pp. 18–19
^ abcdefghijklmnoMaund 2009, p. 167
^Gahan 1983b, p. 51
^ abJohn Laker, Tony Ballantyne (Photography) (2013). Merseyrail Classes 502 and 503 Remembered (DVD). Middlesex: J & K Video.
^Maund 2009, p. 213
^Maund 2001, p. 82
^Longworth 2015, p. 310
^Longworth 2015, pp. 325, 327
^Longworth 2015, p. 318
^Longworth 2015, p. 320
^Marsden 2008, p. 136
^Marsden 1982, p. 120
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