David Russell traces the history of these popular EMUs.
THE requirement for a new fleet of long-distance third-rail EMU vehicles came about as a result of approval for the electrification of the line from Poole to Weymouth in 1986. Since 1967, services from London to Weymouth had been operated by unpowered 4-TC units (converted from Mk.1 coaches), powered by a 4-REP EMU between London and Bournemouth, with Class 33/1 providing traction for the remainder of the journey.
Like many rail investment schemes in the 1980s, the Weymouth line electrification was undertaken on a limited budget. Although 24 ‘new’ five-car Class 442 EMUs were procured (numbered, in SR style, 2401-2424), they reused traction equipment from redundant 4-REP units. A further example of cost-saving was with the power supplies, which meant that 10-car sets were unable to
