ANGEL Trains, Gemini Rail Services at Wolverton Works, and South Western Railway are offering readers the chance to buy a one-off piece of modern traction railwayana in the form of a Class 442 EMU driver’s seat.
The ‘Wessex Electric’ fleet has been in service since 1988, mostly on the main line routes out of Waterloo to Weymouth and Portsmouth, but also out of Victoria and London Bridge to Gatwick and Brighton.
Based on British Rail’s iconic Mk.3 coach bodies, these third-rail EMUs are arguably the most stylish ever built, and are widely admired by enthusiasts and passengers alike. Now, however, the post-Covid world sees no further use for them and so, after more than four decades of service, they have been taken out of service permanently and
are been consigned to the scrapyard. Fleet owners Angel Trains and former operator SWR have kindly made one driver’s seat available to raise money for the Railway Benefit Fund through a sealed bid auction.