FROM THE RM JULY 1967
FROM the days of the Southern Railway in the 1920s through its successor British Railways from 1948, the commuter and main line networks south of the Thames have been increasingly dominated by third-rail EMU operation. But the introduction of electrodiesel Class 73s in the early 1960s and diesel Class 33/1 conversions in the mid- 1960s, both of which were fitted with Pullman-style rubbing plates to enable close coupling with EMUs and DEMUs for full push-pull operation, meant the use of locomotives for planned and emergency haulage of units became more widespread.
The 1960s in particular saw the introduction of unpowered Trailer Car (TC) sets that were similar in design and operation to the indigenous EMUs, and designed for haulage or propulsion by Class 33s, 73s and a wide range of powered EMUs on the line between Waterloo and Weymouth. Many readers will be familiar with the 4-TCs, though the trailer sets originally came in a number of versions. The prototype, like the rest of the fleet, was converted from conventional loco-hauled Mk.1 carriages, being outshopped from York Holgate Road as a 6TC set with sets of 3-TC and 4-TC produced after. The 3-TCs were later lengthened to four-cars to give a unified fleet. Type 3 No. D6580 (later No. 33119) was modified in 1965 for push-pull working in anticipation of the use of the new sub-class on the Waterloo-Bournemouth/Weymouth service following electrification. The loco was trialled in 1965 and 1966 on some Oxted Line services, while some ‘33/1+4-TC’ services also ran through to Swanage.
“ELECTRIFICATION of the Southampton and Bournemouth services of the Southern Region of British Railways called for additional rolling stock for inauguration of full electric services from July 10. Three types of train sets have been provided for these services, classified: 4-VEP, 4-REP, and 3-TC/ 4-TC.
“123 existing BR carriages have been converted into 63 Driving Trailer Open Seconds, 32 Trailer Second Brakes, and 28 Trailer Firsts – which have been formed into 28 4-TC sets, each with a DTOS at each end and a TSB and TF between them. Three 3-TC trains will be similarly formed without the TF. One DTOS, one TSB are held in reserve for maintenance exchange purposes.
Push-pull fitted ‘Bagpipe’ No. 33117 powers away from Basingstoke on September 26, 1987, hauling a 4-TC set as a Waterloo to Salisbury working.
“The 4-REP units are used to propel either one or two 4-TC sets out of Waterloo to Bournemouth. These units have a nominal rating of 3200hp, which fulfils the basic requirement of operating a 12-car train to Southampton (79.25 miles) in 70 minutes and Bournemouth (108 miles) in 100 minutes. On arrival at Bournemouth, one or both of the leading 4-TC sets are hauled by a 1550hp locomotive over the further 34.75 miles to Weymouth.
Between Waterloo and Bournemouth, trains were formed with one or two 4-TC sets propelled by a 4-REP EMU. At Bournemouth, the 4-REP was detached at the rear and a Class ‘33/1’ added to the front of the 4-TC sets to work forwards to Weymouth (with the reverse procedure happening in the up direction). The Class 33/1s – nicknamed ‘Bagpipes’ due to the extra piping – operated to Weymouth right up until electrification was extended to the Dorset town in May 1988.
“The 4-VEP sets normally operate the stopping trains between Waterloo and Bournemouth, but can run with other sets at express train speeds of up to 90mph.”