Class of British electric multiple units
British Rail Class 423 (4 VEP) Class 423/1 4 VEP 3427 at Eastleigh in 2001
In service 1967 – 26 November 2005 Manufacturer British Rail Order no. 30758 (DTCsoL , 76230-76269) 30759 (TSO , 70781-70800) 30760 (MBSO , 62121-62140) 30771 (DTCsoL, 76333-76402) 30772 (TSO, 70872-70906) 30773 (MBSO, 62182-62216) 30792 (DTCsoL, 76441-76540) 30793 (TSO, 70907-70956) 30794 (MBSO, 62217-62266) 30799 (DTCsoL, 76541-76560) 30800 (MBSO, 62267-62276) 30801 (TSO, 70957-70966) 30811 (DTCsoL, 76641-76716) 30812 (TSO, 70997-71034) 30813 (MBSO, 62317-62354) 30851 (MBSO, 62435-62475) 30852 (TSO, 71115-71155) 30853 (DTCsoL, 76861-76942)[ 1] [ 2] Built at Number built 194 Formation 4 cars per trainset: DTCsoL+MBSO+TSO+DTCsoL[ 2] Diagram ED261 (MBSO) ED262 (MBSO) ED263 (MBSO, facelifted) ED266 (MBSO, facelifted) EE365 (DTCsoL) EE366 (DTCsoL) EE367 (DTCsoL) EE368 (DTCsoL) EE373 (DTCsoL, facelifted) EE281 (DCTsoL, modified) EH276 (TSO) EH278 (TSO) EH283 (TSO) EH291 (TSO, facelifted)[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Design code 4 VEP Fleet numbers 7701-7894 (sets, as built) (42)3001-(42)3194 (sets, 423/0) (42)3401-(42)3591 (sets, 423/1) (42)3801-(42)3812 (sets, 423/1) (42)3813-(42)3844 (sets, 423/8) (42)3901-(42)3919 (sets, 423/2) 76230-76942 (DTCsoL) 62121-62475 (MBSO) 70781-71155 (TSO)[ 2] [ 4] Capacity 42F/280S (as built) Operators British Rail InterCity Network SouthEast Connex South Eastern South Eastern Trains Connex South Central Southern South West Trains Depots Car length 66 ft 7 in (20.29 m) Width 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) Height 12 ft 9+ 1 ⁄4 in (3.893 m) Doors Hinged slam Maximum speed 90 mph (145 km/h)[ 6] Weight 157.5 t (155.0 long tons; 173.6 short tons) (as built) Traction motors EE507 Power output 1,000 hp (750 kW) Electric system(s) 750 V DC third rail Current collector(s) Contact shoe Coupling system Drop-head buckeye [ 7] Track gauge 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm ) standard gauge
Class 423/1, No. 3810 arriving at London Waterloo on 15 August 2003. This unit was one of the last to carry Network SouthEast livery. It was nicknamed the "Great Escape" after it was exported to Germany for a while for testing. After a failed attempt to preserve it, the unit was scrapped.
The British Rail Class 423 (4 VEP ), electric multiple unit passenger trains were mostly built by British Rail (BR) at York Works from 1967 to 1974, although the MBSOs and TSOs of the first 20, 7701-7720, were built at Derby Works . They have manually opening doors next to every seating row and were the last coaching stock built in this pattern for BR. They were mostly found working outer-suburban services in South London and rural services in Kent , Sussex and Hampshire , up to 2005 when they were finally replaced by Electrostar and Desiro units. The fleet had a working life of 38 years.
^ a b c Fox 1994 , pp. 50–51, 53–57
^ a b c d Longworth 2015 , pp. 80–83, 138–143, 163, 165–168, 189–193, 195–196, 198
^ "Vehicle Diagram Book No.210 for Electrical Multiple Units (including A.P.T.)" (PDF) . Barrowmore MRG . BRB Residuary Ltd. ED261, ED262, ED263, EE365, EE366, EE367, EE368, EH376, EH278, EH283. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2016 .
^ "Class 423" . The Railway Centre . Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2016 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link )
^ Fox 1987 , pp. 70–72, 81–82
^ Clinnick, Richard (April 2024). " "if it's not right, it's not going out" ". Rolling Stock. Rail Express . No. 335. pp. 84–87.
^ System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles in support of GM/RT2190 (PDF) . London: Rail Safety and Standards Board. 22 June 2011. p. 4. SD001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2022 .