British first generation 25Kv EMUs Classes 302 to 310 between 1992 & 2000

[@OlafProt]

Being a Dorking person these units were totally alien to me, despite some even being NSE. Fascinating

[@clarky2356]

I like the ticking noise when these emu left and arrived at the stations

[@soundseeker63]

Great footage of the now largely forgotten EMU classes. I recall seeing many of them at work on the GEML in the early/mid 90s. And of course some 307s and 308s spend their last days working out of Leeds in the nice WYPTE "strawberries and cream" livery which suited them. They had very deeply cushioned seats which were super comfy, not like the rock hard wafer thin pieces of plastic we endure on the modern classes! And of course there was hardly ever any queues to get on/off them with so many doors. I wish a couple of sets had been preserved as they are such a different experience the clinical modern trains.

[@dunnwell7780]

Being a kid in the early 80s getting, I think, class 304s and up on the line between Wilmslow in Cheshire and Stockport/Manchester with my Gran, the amount of times she had to tell me to stop jumping/bouncing on those lovely seats... They were more like matresses than seats.

[@johnnyboy3949]

Slam door trains ❤️ I’m just too young to remember them having been born in the mid 90s and my local line running sprinters from the 80s. Been on them on heritage lines though and they just feel like that is the way railways are supposed to be.

[@florencegomer7937]

Burning Wang .... Entry and exit was far quicker, but there was always one idiot who left one door open that someone else had to shut.

[@chris-io1ki]

Many a trip down memory lane here. Great video. Hope you have managed a similar DMU video.

[@andyrowlands50029]

Vehicle 75881 of Unit 308 136 is the sole 308 survivor. I did some restoration work on it while it was at the Electric Railway Museum in Coventry. 309 616 & 624 also feature in this video, and both were at the ERM as well :-)

[@neilcrawford8303]

Thanks for sharing this. Most of my memories are Southern 4 SUBs, 2 and 4 EPBs, VEPs & CIGs. Love the old slam door EMUs, it's great to hear the traction motors whine as the train accelerates.

[@David-ci1vn]

My memories are much the same albeit plus the superb 4TC/4TC/4REP Bournemouth config and even the occassional 4LAV, all of them "proper trains" unlike the 2/4PEP foisted on the public in what, '73/4, awful.

[@neilcrawford8303]

@@David-ci1vn Yup, I remember the REP-TCs to, watching them fly through Surbiton. Used to like watching them move off coast bound with the REP at the rear and watching the compression between the REP and the TCs stock as the REP propelled the train away. As for PEPs, we still have the PEP offspring where I live, 507s & 8s. Soon to be history when the 777s eventually take over. I do remember the prototype PEP units working on the Waterloo suburban services.

[@David-ci1vn]

@@neilcrawford8303 My parents moved tp B'mth and the Waterloo run was a failry common feature, "Smoked haddock, brown toast and tea", "Certainly sir", fast backwards to the future, oh please! I had a friend with BR, they tested two 4-REPs jumpered toegther on the Haywards Heath line, had to hold the breakers in as it broke the sound barrier!!

[@stephendines1936]

I'm remember the 309 units in 'Jaffa Cake' Orange livery on the Liverpool Street to Clacton services.

[@jamesbraithwaite478]

The Class 304's also worked the line between Altrincham & Deansgate before Metrolink took over in 1990. The diesel version of the 304 did run on the now unused line between Skelton Junction & Heatley.

[@lesfez1875]

Remember these on Fenchurch St to Southend line, always 4 car units and in green livery, then BR blue. I recall they could go at quite a speed but bounced around a lot.

[@5mnz7fg]

So charming!

[@Pmjs]

I used to work 305s from Edinburgh to North Berwick.

[@david-othen]

What were they like to drive? Any memories you would like to share?

[@Pmjs]

305 519 was one of sets we had at Edinburgh Waverley. However Scotrail's were all 4 car not 3 car.

[@stevem-h3562]

I used to find the 310's so boring when I was a kid, spotting in the 70s and early 80s. Compared to the soulless 350's we have in the LMR these days, I'd have em back in a hearbeat.

[@theguitarsurgeon6213]

just the sound of the brakes bring back memories lol

[@David-ci1vn]

...and the brake blocks!

[@eddherring4972]

I’m just here for the sound of bolted rails, you can’t find it anywhere, not U.K. anyway. Remember 305s on the Liverpool Street To Bishop’s Stortford run. I think electrification to Cambridge must have been done about 1989-1990. Until then it was DMU to Newport school every day and class 47 back home.

[@riverhuntingdon6659]

Bloody shame none were preserved in working order as a complete set. I was on the last 309 run from Clacton. The unit was immaculately kept, and seemed to have years more life left, especially as the BRB spent so much on their refurb. I recall going to Norwood Yard once, and being asked to get a brake controller from a scrapper. It was a 309. The unit was so nice I went back to the telephone as I was sure they'd made a mistake as the wheel tyres still had many miles left, and the whole set seemed "too good to scrap" in my eyes. But nope, scrapped it was. Can't recall the number now, but what a waste.

[@david-othen]

Of course some of the Clacton units got a little more use in the Manchester area based at Longsight Depot as shown in the video.

[@SteamboatWilley]

great stuff. interesting regional railways livery variation on some of the 305s such as 403, with an upward "swoosh" to the stripes towards the ends of the units instead of the more common straight style. similar to variations on the network southeast livery. I keep wondering what BR trains would have looked like if privatisation hadn't happened. no doubt RR and Scotrail colours would have spread across the fleet.

[@Mitch-Hendren]

I Think some did just have the red stripe painted over in pale blue. I seem to remember red paint showing through the flaky "baby" blue right at the end of their life. Could be a false memory though. Im old!

[@donovanemery597]

I remember travelling on the whole of the London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria line

[@petersmith4455]

great video, wish we still had the 302 units now in 2021 instead of the rubbish we have now. yuk.

[@Isochest]

Some of these were originally 1500v dc. You missed that out. They were converted to 6.25kv ac/25kv ac in 1960.

[@xfileswilly]

Forgot to feature the 303 and 307s. Also no mention of the preserved class 306.

[@Keithbarber]

Sliding door emu's This video is about the slam door version

[@BrakeCoach]

2:19 what is that?

[@egatetapmenunggu3675]

2:03 BISA SF12

[@lfewell2161]

Most of these trains up to the 308 had LNER designed bogies, now we're these built new or refurbished from ex LNER coaches scrapped around this time?

[@wharris302]

I'm used to slamdoor EMUs being 3rd rail, and here we see 25kv slamdoors, it doesn't look right lol

[@brucecohen3001]

Were the 310s first generation?

[@ChangesOneTim]

Interesting question. While 310s were slam-door, tapchanger-controlled and Westinghouse air-braked, they were first EMUs to use Mk2 coach-derived construction and wheelsets and first to feature disc braking. Arguably 310s are second-generation. The 310s were way ahead of all earlier EMUs for ride and refinement when introduced on Euston suburbans, except possibly for the 309 Clactons which were essentially based on 'InterCity' grade Mk1 stock. It cannot be purely because of cost-saving that BR chose to base the 312s on them nearly ten years later.

[@florencegomer7937]

One minor typo, it's kV, not Kv.

[@AnubhabKundu]

Why these EMUs don't have vestibules?

[@ChangesOneTim]

Suburban stock design at the time usually had a slam door for each row of seats, vestibules were considered unnecessary space.

[@mikkie444]

Did the trains that ran out of Fenchurch street go on to be used on other lines or were they scraped

[@kevinrussell2718]

Some of the Class 302s - as seen here - were converted to Parcels Units (as were some Class 308s). Some Class 307s (not featured) were re-allocated to Leeds Neville Hill for the Leeds - Doncaster electrified local service. As seen, some Class 308s were also re-allocated to Leeds Neveille Hill, for the newly-electrified local service to Bradford, Forster Square, Ilkley and Skipton. Leeds' allocation of Class 307s lasted about 5 years, before being replaced by a specially-built batch of three Standard Class-only Class 321/9s. Their allocation of Class 308s lasted until 2001, when they were replaced by a batch of sixteen Class 333s.

[@carlpollington5059]

There are two 302s at Mangapps Railway Museum near Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. I believe they're waiting restoration. I pop back every few years and hope to go back inside one

[@davidjones3758]

Proper emus not like the crap they have now.

[@MrGriser]

Class 304s actually built 1958-59

[@david-othen]

Thank you for your comment. According to 1987 edition of Platform 5 Locomotives and Coaching Stock they were built 1960-61. So there seems to be some disagreement between our sources. Cheers

[@MontyCantsin5]

That's incorrect.

[@MrGriser]

@@MontyCantsin5 They were built in the late 1950's.

[@MontyCantsin5]

@@MrGriser: If you are 100% sure about this can you please update the wikipedia article for the class and cite sources for the dates you've mentioned.

[@MrGriser]

@@MontyCantsin5 It won't let me!

[@lezbowron2673]

Not to mention Doncaster

[@kiwitrainguy]

16.13 - pull yer head in yer little !@#$%$#@!

[@stephenpowell5912]

Classic Locos alot better looking then the Shite Generation we have in Todays Network Rail owned Garbage,Before Abellio and all these Foreign Companies that are running our railways into the Abyss

[@lezbowron2673]

Ah 305s ugliest thing out of York just my opinion