Скачать или смотреть Class 455 with Loud Motor • 455 867 • Isleworth → Kew Bridge

Taken a few weeks ago after taking rail replacement pictures at Hounslow, I decided to get the train home to save about an hour of walking.from Hounslow to Chiswick. After noticing that the train had an extremely loud motor, I decided to film it from Isleworth.

Class 455s are trains built in the 1980s to replace slam-door trains on suburban lines in south London. After the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the trains were split between Connex South Central (now Southern), consisting of the units based at Selhurst, and South West Trains (now South Western Railway), consisting of the units based at Wimbledon.

During the 2010s, Southern and South West Trains took different approaches to the trains reaching roughly halfway through their expected working lives.

SWT refurbished the interior, including installing high-back seats and refurbishing the doors to open wider, in the 2000s, and repowered the trains, converting them from DC to AC and replacing the ancient EE507 motors with more modern equipment from Vossloh Kiepe, in the 2010s. The SWT (now SWR) units generally operate on services out of Waterloo along the South Western Mainline to the Kingston loop, Chessington South, Epsom, Dorking, Guildford (via Effingham Junction), and Hampton Court.

Southern, on the other hand, have only refurbished the interior, and have kept the original EE507 motor equipment. Southern units generally operate on branch lines within Greater London, with majority of services using them operating out of London Bridge, although some also operate out of Victoria. However, due to Southern not allocating their trains as strictly as SWT/SWR do, the lines they operate on are often operated by 377s.

The differences in traction equipment mean that Southern and SWR units sound different. I personally prefer the SWR units, although I tend to end up on 377s, probably helped as my local Southern stations (yes, Shepherd's Bush has Southern trains 😂) are only served by them.

Right, hope you've enjoyed my detailed history of this type of train and hope you'll enjoy the video!
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
© SS Moquette, 2021
Do NOT use without explicit permission.