| Information | |
|---|---|
| Number built: | 157 (3-8 car sets plus MPVs) |
| Built: | 1904-22 |
| Builder: | NER York / British Thomson-Houston |
| Engine: | 2 British Thomson-Houston traction motors (600v DC third rail) |
| Power: | 250 hp (186 kW) final batch 280 hp (208 kW) |
The EMUs were built to the NER's style with clerestory roofs. The original batch of 88 vehicles included driving motor cars (both with first/class class compartments and all third [6]), trailers and motor parcel vans which had a compartment for fish! Another 35 cars were built in 1915. However disaster occurred in 1918 when a fire at Walkergate Car Sheds destroyed 34 cars held inside [7].
Thirty-four replacement cars were built between 1920 and 1922. These had more powerful BTH motors (140hp as opposed to the original 125hp motors) and an elliptical roof instead of a clerestory. The original stock was replaced by newer units built by Metro-Cammell in the 1930s but the 1920-22 stock remained in service until it was replaced by Class 416 EMUs in 1955. One 1904 built parcel van has been preserved.
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| Public domain image [1] |
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| Motor Parcel Van, Public domain image [2] |
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| Public domain image [3] |
[1] Charles H Grinling, The ways of our railways (Ward Lock, 1910) p. 172
[2] "Electric express car for the North Eastern Railway of England", Electric Railway Journal Vol XXXIII No. 14 (1909) p. 609
[3] "New motor cars for the North Eastern Railway of England", Electric Railway Journal Vol XXXIV No. 8 (1908) p. 290
[4] Brian Haresnape & Alec Swain, Third Rail DC Electric Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1989) p. 15
[5] David Dunn, Tyneside Electrics: 1 (Book Law, 2016) p. 4
[6] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 182
[7] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains and Locomotives in the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 56