A milestone in electric railway preservation was achieved on Monday, 1 September, by the Class 507 Preservation Society (C507PS) – the first conversion of a preserved electric multiple unit to battery operation in Britain.
Former Merseyrail EMU 507001 successfully ran under its own power, without a third rail, in tests at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby, paving the way for future operation on a heritage railway.
This feat was made possible by fitting batteries inside the train’s driving cars. These batteries can power the train’s traction motors and compressor, which supplies air to the brakes, removing the need for a third rail power supply. This modification means the train can run under its own power on unelectrified railways, including the many heritage lines across the country.
On the afternoon of 1 September, the three-car train completed several test runs on the works’ internal railway lines. Over the course of three hours, it travelled a distance of 2.8 miles at speeds of up to 8 mph, all on a single charge.
These low-speed test runs are just the beginning of the battery journey. The next stage will involve designing structural modifications to 507001 to permit higher-capacity batteries to be fitted to the underframe, keeping all three cars available for passenger use. Initial modelling suggests that speeds of up to 25 mph will be possible, suitable for operation on most heritage railways.
Robert Hampton, chairman of C507PS, said, “This is a historic moment for our society and electric train preservation. We have always been determined that 507001 would remain as an operational train, not be a static museum piece. Being able to run under its own power makes 507001 a useful asset to a heritage railway, and enables it to do what it did so well for 46 years on Merseyside: transport passengers.”
Tom Camps, Head of Engineering at C507PS who is leading the battery project, remarked, “The challenges of adapting a 50-year-old train design for batteries are considerable, but we have now proved that the conversion is feasible. To see 507001 operating today is a tribute to the hard work of the society’s Engineering team, and we look forward to refining the concept to allow passenger service in the future.”
Jake D’Arcy, Head of Operations at C507PS, commented, “I’m incredibly proud of what our society has achieved today. I’d like to pay a special thanks to all of our engineering team and our volunteering members for their ambition, hard work and dedication to make this happen. We will analyse the data from yesterday’s test runs to further develop this concept which will enable the unit to operate in passenger service on a heritage railway in the future.”
For more information on the society, or to sign up as a member, visit class507.org.uk.
Images credit: Class 507 Preservation Society
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