Class 442 Wessex EMUs
After more than 30 years, the 24-strong fleet of Class 442 Wessex EMUs has yet to be recognised as a viable model, despite numerous liveries and a loyal following. Is there any manufacturer up to producing a scale model?
DELIVERED to Bournemouth depot in 1988 as a replacement for the South Western Division allocated 4-REP third rail EMUs and 4TC trailer units, the 24 five-car Class 442 EMUs modernised long distance services on the Waterloo Bournemouth line and the then recently electrified line between Poole and Weymouth. The EMUs were based on Mk.3 stock, fitted with power plug doors – a new feature for British rolling stock at the time.
The design concept was new for both BR and the former Southern Region, with the vehicles being based on the 23-metre long Mk.3 coach and fitted with sealed passenger saloon windows and air-conditioning. The trailers were recognisable in having the same window and body shell profile as stock used in HST and InterCity train sets, while the powered MBLS was a new concept, being a high-powered motor coach in a strengthened Mk.3 body.
It remains a significant ‘miss’ in the model railway world, with the only option for a ‘OO’ gauge model being rebuilding Hornby Mk.3 coaches with cast driving cabs for the driving trailers and brass overlays for the MBLS vehicle – not an easy conversion. How attractive would it be to produce as a ready-to-run model?
Modelling considerations
There are four generally accepted considerations which make a train attractive as a commercial model: a wide service area; long service history, and several different liveries applied to a numerous fleet. This rule of thumb has not always been applied to decisions made to produce some models; the Bachmann Midland Pullman and Accurascale CAF Mk.5a TransPennine train sets spring to mind.
Four body shells (including the slightly different Trailer Standard wheelchair) are required to cover the first 20 years of Class 442 history plus a drive mechanism in the MBLS, although conversion of the MBSL to an MLC for Gatwick Express/Southern complicates matters. The cab front may present a challenge, but with modern tooling techniques there is no reason why an excellent facsimile in both ‘OO’ and ‘N’ gauge could not be created.
Service area and time
From introduction in 1988/9 until being taken off-lease to warm storage in 2007, the Class 442s were utilised on principle services between London Waterloo, Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth, covering a diversity of railway landscapes from the intensely operated London suburban railways towards Woking; through to rural Hampshire and Dorset, including single line trackage near Dorchester.
Route clearance between Chertsey and Staines and a limited number of other routes was made for diversions. Class 442s worked as 10-car sets in the peak and five at other times. From 1992, they spread their sphere of operation to include the Portsmouth direct line.
Transfer to the Gatwick Express/ Southern franchise saw a change of scenery to include the Brighton line and operation over adjacent routes on ‘extended’ Gatwick Express services. Part of the fleet was refurbished and utilised in 10-car formations on the Brighton line from 2008. Additional units were added in 2009 until a further franchise change saw the fleet withdrawn in 2016 as GTR's rollingstock plans did not include Class 442s.
They returned to the former South Western Division for use with the new South Western Railway franchise, which leased 18 units for use on the Portsmouth direct line. The remainder were placed in store with a view to stripping them for spares and eventual scrapping, with Nos. 2401 and 2421 being completely broken up.
Formations
When first introduced, the Class 442 consisted of a Driving Trailer Composite (DTC), Trailer Standard (TS), Motor Buffet Luggage Standard (MBLS), Trailer Standard with wheelchair space and Driving Trailer Standard (DTS).
The DTC was refitted as a DTF shortly after introduction with the first small livery change – extension of the yellow First Class stripe. In effect, a model would require four different body shells to model it from 1998 to 2007/8 (excluding unrefurbished stock used on the Brighton line), one for the driving trailers and TS coach, one for the wheelchair TS and one for the MBLS. Differences between them were largely internal.
After privatisation, the Class 442s continued in service with South West Trains, with some rearrangement of the MBLS until the introduction of Class
444 and Class 450 EMUs, resulting in their withdrawal by the end of 2007.
After a period in storage, Class 442s were refurbished in stages for Gatwick Express which saw First Class moved to the MBSL, its famous ‘snug’ being removed and alterations made to the window layout, while the DTF become all Standard Class.
More luggage space was provided too. For a manufacturer, this not only requires further tooling for interior detail, including removal of the DTF compartments, but addressing the changes made to the MBLS (MLC) too.
Liveries
Several substantially different liveries have been carried, making the Class 442 attractive as a commercial model, even if modelled only in its pre-GoVia-Southern format. Introduced in Network SouthEast ‘long distance’ or express version of the livery with pale greys and revised blue, the Class 442 was an attractive-looking unit. Little wonder it quickly gained a following of dedicated modellers.
Privatisation saw two liveries applied after the original NSE scheme received SWT branding: Stagecoach corporate colours and a variation of the scheme applied to slam-door EMUs, as applied to No. 2402 in 1995.
Transfer to Gatwick Express and operation on the Brighton Main Line was accompanied by the next main livery change, but also changes to the external appearance of the MBSL.
Finally, repatriation to the South Western section and refurbishment for use on Portsmouth line services from Waterloo sees the latest livery of dark blue and light grey applied.
Numbers game
For a model to be a good proposition, it helps if the fleet is of a reasonable size. Class 442s appear to meet this criteria when compared to other models that have been released in recent years.
Twenty-four Class 442 units (24012424), each with five vehicles, equals a fleet total of 120 vehicles. Eighteen remain in service today, albeit in warm store due to the Covid-19 situation.
The Class 442 story is a surprisingly interesting and diverse one and if you would like to know more, read the excellent article on the Blood and Custard website at www.bloodandcustard.com
Summary
The Class 442s meet most of the accepted requirements of a commercial model, including fleet size, liveries and a wide area of operation. Certainly there are more of them than TPE Mk.5a coaches and diesel Pullman sets! It leaves Southern Electric modellers wondering if they will ever attract the attention of a manufacturer.
If Accurascale can tool models of a small fleet of coaches with a short service history and limited routes, with just the one livery, the Class 442 Wessex EMUs must be a reasonably attractive proposition.
So, any takers?