British Rail Class 503

British Rail Class 503
British Rail Class 503
	A British Rail Class 503 train in the Liverpool Loop tunnel. This train was one of the original batch built by the LMS in 1938.
	The interior of DMBS car 28690 at the Electric Railway Museum, Coventry.
In service	1938–1985
Manufacturer	Metro Cammell, Birmingham RC&W
Replaced	Mersey Railway electric units
Constructed	1938 and 1956
Refurbished	1971 (First class accommodation removed) ; 1972 (End doors fitted)
Scrapped	1985
Number built	19 full sets (1938); 24 full sets (1956); 2 TS+DTS (1956);
Number preserved	1
Number scrapped	44
Formation	3 cars per trainset: DMBS+TS+DTS;
Diagram	BR EB203 or LMS 344A (DMBS); BR EH214 or LMS 368A (TS); BR EE202 or LMS 392A (DTS);
Fleet numbers	28672-28690 (DMBS 1938); 28371-28394 (DMBS 1956); 29702-29720 (TS 1938); 29821-29846 (TS 1956); 29271-29289 (DTS 1938); 29131-29156 (DTS 1956);
Capacity	40 (First class); 141 (Third Class);
Operators	LMS; British Railways;
Depots	Birkenhead Central; Birkenhead North
Lines served	Wirral Line (1938–1985); Northern Line (1977–1981);
Specifications
Train length	176 ft 11 in (53.92 m)
Car length	58 ft 0 in (17.68 m) (DMBS and DTS); 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m) (TS);
Width	9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) (less over body, greatest width over footsteps)
Height	11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)
Doors	4 × Twin 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m) electro-pneumatic sliding doors per car
Wheelbase	41 ft 0 in (12.50 m) (Centres of bogies); 7 ft 6 in (2,290 mm) (Bogie)
Maximum speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Weight	Total: 77 t (76 long tons; 85 short tons); 37 t (36 long tons; 41 short tons) (DMBS); 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons) (TS); 22 t (22 long tons; 24 short tons) (DTS, 29131-29156); 21 t (21 long tons; 23 short tons) (DTS, 29271-29289);
Traction system	BTH
Traction motors	4 × EE
Power output	135 hp (101 kW) per traction motor; Total: 540 hp (400 kW);
Tractive effort	4 × 93 hp (69 kW) continuous; Total: 372 hp (277 kW) continuous;
HVAC	Electric heating, self-ventilated
Electric system(s)	650 V DC third rail or fourth rail
Current collector(s)	Contact shoe
UIC classification	Bo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′
Bogies	Single bolster
Braking system(s)	Westinghouse electro-pneumatic and straight air brakes
Coupling system	Buckeye (between sets); Screw (individual cars);
Multiple working	Within class only
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
	End doors fitted for tunnel working from 1972.

British Rail Class 503 passenger trains were 65 mph (105 km/h) electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches: the first were in 1938, by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), with a further batch (built to a similar design) in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways (BR). When introduced by the LMS, they were known officially as Class AM3. They were designed for, and operated on, the Wirral & Mersey lines from Liverpool to West Kirby, New Brighton and Rock Ferry. There were few places on their network of closely-spaced stations to attain their maximum speed, except for the open section between Moreton and Meols. All but one set were withdrawn and scrapped by 1985. The final set was used on special Merseyrail services until 1988; it was preserved and kept at the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry, until it moved on to the Locomotive Storage Ltd warehouse at Margate.

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