World Track Record EM2 proudly on display at Dutch Railway Museum

NS CLASS 1500 No. 1501 – the only loco of the type preserved in the country – has been put on display at the Dutch National Rail museum in Utrecht to commemorate 50 years since the former BR EM2 class electric locos entered service in the Netherlands as NS Class 1500.

The loco was formerly

No. E27003 Diana and was moved to Utrecht from Blerick (Venlo), where it has been stored since 2007.

The loco was originally supposed to be on display by June 12 as that was the actual anniversary, however the combined impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the fact cosmetic restoration took longer than planned (not helped by coronavirus restrictions) meant 1501 was not moved to the museum until July 1.

The movement by rail was undertaken by 1953 vintage Alsthom-built electric loco

No. 1304.

NS bought all seven of the

EM2 class locos, built at Gorton Works in 1953/54, which became redundant because of the closure of the Woodhead route to passengers.

The EM2s were all withdrawn in September 1968, but weren’t sold to NS until the following year.

NS used six of the locos –

Nos. 1501-1506 from 1970 – until 1986, primarily on the Den Haag to Venlo route. The seventh loco (E27005 Minerva )was used as a source of parts, and scrapped by NS in late-1969

Three locos are preserved: 1501 (E27003) in the

Netherlands by Werkgroep 1501, 1502 (E27000 Electra) by the EM2 Loco Society at Butterley, and 1505 (E27001 Ariadne )atthe

Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

The other three were scrapped in 1985/86 in the Netherlands.

No. 1501 will be on display at the museum until January.

Pre-booking tickets is required to enter the museum because of coronavirus social distancing.

For more information and details see website: www.spoorwegmuseum.nl

VASCO DE COCQ Above: NS 1501 is pushed into the museum at Utrecht Maliebaan by preserved NS ‘Sik’ two-axle shunter No. 345 on July 1.

KEITH FENDER Right: No. 1501 (along with UK-based EM2 Loco Society 1502/E27000) worked special trains in the Netherlands in the years after withdrawal, but none have operated for more than a decade. It is seen at Amsterdam Sloterdijk on October 5, 1991, with the ‘DC Tribute’ railtour. In 1996, No. 1501 was repainted as E27003 for the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ tour, which attracted a lot of interest from British enthusiasts.