British Rail Class 489
| British Rail Class 489 | |
|---|---|
489107 at Wirksworth Station on 17 April 2003. This unit is one of two preserved on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Derbyshire.
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| In service | 1984-2005 |
| Manufacturer | BR |
| Order no. | 30452 |
| Built at | Ashford/Eastleigh |
| Replaced | Class 427 |
| Constructed |
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| Entered service | 1984 |
| Refurbishment | BREL Eastleigh (conversion) |
| Number built | 10 |
| Formation | Single car (DMLV) |
| Diagram | EX561 |
| Design code | 1-GLV |
| Fleet numbers |
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| Capacity | Luggage space only |
| Operator(s) |
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| Depot(s) | Stewarts Lane |
| Line(s) served | Brighton Main Line |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Car length | 19.495 m (63 ft 11 1⁄2 in) (over body) |
| Width | 2.826 m (9 ft 3 1⁄4 in) |
| Height | 3.861 m (12 ft 8 in) |
| Doors | Twin-leaf slam |
| Articulated sections | Single car |
| Wheelbase |
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| Maximum speed | 90 mph (140 km/h) |
| Weight | 40.5 t (39.9 long tons; 44.6 short tons) |
| Traction system | Electric |
| Traction motors | 2 × EE507 of 185 kW (248 hp) |
| Power output | 370 kW (500 hp) |
| Train heating | Electric |
| Electric system(s) | 660-750 V DC third rail |
| Current collection method | Contact shoe |
| Bogies | SR mk4 powered and unpowered (one of each) |
| Braking system(s) | EP |
| Coupling system | Automatic drophead buckeye |
| Multiple working | 1951, 1957, 1963 and Gatwick Express stock |
| Headlight type | Originally tungsten, later halogen |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Notes | |
| Units converted in 1983-84 from Class 414/3 DMBS vehicles, to operate with Class 488. | |
The British Rail Class 489 (or GLV) is a type of electrical multiple unit, specially converted for use on Gatwick Express trains, from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport.
The units were converted from Class 414 driving motors cars, by Eastleigh works in 1983-84, for use on the new Gatwick Express service. They were used to allow push-pull operations, on the London-end of the rakes of Class 488 stock, with a Class 73 locomotive at the other end and both used for propulsion. The units were used as baggage cars.
Units were given unit numbers in the range 489101-489110, with individual carriages numbered 68500-68509. However, purely for aesthetic purposes, only the last four digits of the set numbers were shown, to fit with the traditional Southern style (maintained until privatisation by British Rail's Southern region) - older (pre-TOPS) units were originally assigned four-digit numbers. The units were originally painted in BR Blue/Grey livery, which was quickly replaced by InterCity livery. The final livery carried by these units is a variation of the InterCity livery, with a claret stripe and Gatwick Express lettering.
Upon privatisation of British Rail, the Gatwick Express franchise was won by the National Express Group.
Immediately after privatisation, the Class 489 fleet was exclusively used by Gatwick Express on all their London Victoria-Gatwick Airport shuttles. However, new units, in the form of Class 460 'Juniper' units were built from 2000, with the aim of completely replacing the old stock. By 2002, sufficient new trains were in service to allow six Class 489 units to be removed from traffic, leaving four units retained as cover in case of failure of one of the new trains. Two of these subsequently withdrawn so that by the end of 2004, only two units (nos. 489104/110) were still in use, as reliability of the 'Juniper' units had not improved sufficiently to totally replace all the old trains. They were finally withdrawn in 2005, following improvements to the "Juniper" fleet reliability.
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