Just 40 supporters would ensure return of iconic preserved EMU, says 4- SUB restoration group
THEY were at the heart of the Southern Region's London commuter traffic for the first three decades of Nationalisation, and were the regular mode of travel for not only the capital's many thousands of workers, but also the army of trainspotters wanting to visit sheds in the metropolis south of the Thames. Even their name, 4- SUB, had a ring about it that appealed to teenage enthusiasts.
The classification referred to each unit comprising four cars - two power and two trailers - and their suburban traffic role. To many they were the archetypal Southern Region electric multiple unit, and operating out of Waterloo, Victoria, Cha ring Cross and London Bridge, became known as the face of suburban rail travel in south and south- west London.
Between 1941 and 1951, a total of 185 sets emerged from Eastleigh Works, and despite continual use with heavy rush- hour loadings on one of the most intensive commuter networks in the country, all but six of them were still in service in 1973, when they became Class 405 under the TOPS system.
Many survived into the 1980s, with the final 4- SUB working being the 10.21 am East Croydon to Victoria train on September 6, 1983. By then BR had recognised the sterling work and iconic status of the class, having saved for preservation the previous year a complete four- car set, No. 4732, which was one of the last to be built in 1951 and had spent its entire 31- year BR life working out of Waterloo.
BR's largesse didn't stop at simply ensuring the unit's survival, however, for to the delight of EMU aficionados it was reliveried in Southern green and operated charter trains and appeared at open days, serving as a reminder of a class of which each set had covered hundreds of thousands of miles on millions of individual passenger journeys without any major modifications from the original design.
By 1998 No. 4732' s charter days were over, and it was sold to 4- SUB Preservation Ltd for its scrap value of £ 5785 and subsequently stored in the open air at the Electric Railway Museum near Baginton on the outskirts of Coventry, which closed in October 2017.
Admirers' relief
The unit is now owned by the Heritage Electric Trains Trust and in 2018 was moved to the Locomotive Storage Ltd facility in the former Hornby factory in Margate, where it went under cover for the first time in 20years. That was a relief to the unit's many admirers, but the trust has now warned that funds are desperately needed if a planned £ 50,000 cosmetic restoration, prior to the possibility of restoring it for operational use, is to become a reality.
In a message to supporters, trust chairman Graeme Gleaves has explained that the move from the museum to Margate and storage had, to date, cost more than £ 25,000. "This was not unexpected, but we had faith that, given the popularity of the 4- SUB and the number of people who wanted to see this unit return to its former glory, we could make it happen:•
However, Graeme revealed that funds were now running out, and the trust was struggling, a situation that he said couldn't continue. "The current situation ( of Covid- 19) has left us with no opportunities to go to fundraising events, and we rely entirely on the income we generate from our immediate support network:'
The trust, he said, had set up a fundraising scheme under the title 750 Supply to raise £ 750 a month, which would pay for the storage costs and enable the restoration to start, and he said 40 people could achieve this by signing up to one of three packages - five people subscribing to a gold package at £ 50 per month, 10 silver at £ 25 per month, and 25 bronze at£ 10 per month.
Each subscriber, said Graeme, would receive an annual package of a calendar and other exclusive items, these being dependent on which level of support is pledged. "If it is fully subscribed, we will be home and dry to realise that ambition we all share, to keep No. 4732 safe and get it restored:'
Graeme told Heritage Railway:
"The restoration would not be about making the unit operational, that will be a much later consideration. Display and conservation comes first, 20 years of open storage has to be arrested. Operating the unit on heritage railways remains a longer- term goal, exploring bi- mode power supply.
"The unit is an icon, and a unique one. There will never be another chance to restore a SUB unit:'
The fund raising and planned restoration is to be carried out with the support of the 4- SUB Association, whose chairman Mark Walling said the opportunity to get No. 4732 under cover and to kick- start new projects would ensure the long- term future of what he described as an "historic and important train" that would be a real asset to railway heritage.
➔ If you would like to become a 750 Supply subscriber, visit www.hett.org. uk, email helo@hett.org.uk, or write to: Lavinia Lodge, Strayfield Road, Enfield, EN2 9JF.