British Rail Class 421

Class 421/3, no. 1717, at Clapham Junction on 20 August 2004. This was one of the final few 'Phase 1' 4Cig units in service with Southern.

The British Rail Class 421 (or 4Cig) electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works from 1964-1972.

Description

Class 421/5, no. 1313, at London Waterloo on 19 July 2003. This is one of 22 "Greyhound" units that were operated by South West Trains. This unit has since been withdrawn and scrapped.

Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern Railway-designed units, such as the 5Bel "Brighton Belle" units, and 4Cor units.

Standard units

The standard units contained only passenger accommodation, and formed the bulk of the fleet.

Units consisted of two driving trailer, sandwiching an intermediate motor coach, and an intermediate trailer.

Units were built in two batches. 'Phase 1' units were built from 1963-66 for the Brighton Line, and were numbered 7301-7336. These were followed from 1970-72 by the 'Phase 2' units, built primarily for the Portsmouth line, numbered 7337-7438.

4Big units

The 4Big units were similar to the standard units, but contained a buffet car in place of the intermediate trailer.

These units were also built in two batches. 'Phase 1' units were built from 1965-66, and were numbered 7031-48. 'Phase 2' units were built in 1970, and were numbered 7049-7058.

The 4Big fleet were initially classified as Class 420 by British Rail under the new computer numbering system introduced in 1968.

Vehicle Numbering

The numbering of individual vehicles and details of when units were built are shown in the table below.

Phase	Type	Unit Nos.	Years Built	DTCsoL	MBSO	TSO (*TRSB)	DTCsoL
Phase 1	4Cig	7301-7336	1964-65	76076-76111	62017-62052	70695-70730	76022-76057
	4Big	7031-7048	1964-65	76112-76129	62053-62070	69301-69318*	76058-76075
Phase 2	4Cig	7337-7366	1970	76581-76610	62287-62316	70967-70996	76611-76640
		7367-7437	1970-72	76717-76787	62355-62425	71035-71105	76788-76858
		7438	1972	76859	62430	71106	76860
	4Big	7049-7058	1970	76561-76570	62277-62286	69330-69339*	76571-76580

Class 421/6, no. 1908, at London Victoria on 15 August 2004. This unit was one of eight modified 'Phase 1' unit fitted with Mk.6 motor bogies. It was also one of only four 'Phase 1' units to be repainted in South Central livery. It was withdrawn in October 2004 and has since been scrapped.

Refurbishment

Units were facelifted from 1985-93.

8Mig units

In 1983, two temporary 8Mig units, numbered 2601-2602, were formed whilst the 4Big fleet underwent asbestos removal. Therefore, four standard 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, numbers 7401-7404, were reformed with conventional locomotive-hauled miniature buffet carriage (RMB). Each 8Mig unit was formed by marshalling the RMB coach in between two units, one of which was reduced to three carriages, with the removal of the intermediate trailer (TSO). Thus, in effect, each 8Mig unit was effectively formed of 4Cig + RMB + 3Cig. The formations of the units are listed below:

8Mig unit No.	4Cig unit					RMB coach	3Cig unit
	Unit no.	DTCsoL	MBSO	TSO	DTCsoL		Unit no.	DTCsoL	MBSO	DTCsoL
2601	7401	76751	62389	71069	76822	1872	7402	76752	62390	76823
2602	7403	76753	62391	71071	76804	1873	7404	76754	62392	76825

These units were only used during the summer of 1983, after which enough asbestos-free 4Big units were available. The two 8Mig units were disbanded and the four 4Cig unit reformed. The 4Cig units have since been renumbered several time, as shown below:

Unrefurbished		Facelifted
74xx series	12xx series	18xx series	8Dig unit	18xx series
7401	1201	1868	-	-
7402	1202	1860	-	-
7403	1203	1869	-	-
7404	1204	1875	2001	1802

Class 421/7, no. 1410, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003. This unit was one of eleven 3Cop units converted from redundant 4Big units in 1997, for use on Brighton Coastway services by Connex South Central. Since then, this unit has been augmented to a 4Cop with the addition of a 'Phase 1' intermediate trailer. It was one of the final three such units in service and was withdrawn in March 2005.

8Dig units

In 1992, four 8Dig units, numbered 2001-2004, were formed by semi-permanently coupling a 4Cig and a 4Big unit. The units were dedicated to London Victoria to Brighton express services, which were operated as the Capital-Coast Express.

The 8Dig units were formed from four 'Phase 2' 4Big units, and two 'Phase 1' and two 'Phase 2' 4Cig units. The 'Phase 1' units, numbers 1901/02 (recently renumbered from 1715/16), were fitted with Mk.6 motor bogies. Interestingly, one of the 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, no. 1875 (ex. 7404), had previously been part of 8Mig unit 2602. Unit formations are listed below:

8Dig unit no.	4Cig unit					4Big unit
	Unit no.	DTCsoL	MBSO	TSO	DTCsoL	Unit no.	DTCsoL	MBSO	TSRB	DTCsoL
2001	1875	76754	62417	71072	76850	2262	76779	62392	69333	76825
2002	1902	76100	62041	71768	76046	2254	76732	62379	69306	76803
2003	1801	76777	62415	71095	76848	2255	76740	62378	69310	76811
2004	1901	76082	62023	70701	76028	2259	76748	62386	69318	76819

The units were disbanded in 1996, after replacement by dedicated Class 319/2 units. The various 4Cig and 4Big units were reformed and gained their original numbers, except unit 1875, which was renumbered to 1802.

Class 421/4, no. 1879, at Charing Cross on 18 March 2003, with a service to Hastings. This unit was operated by South Eastern Trains, and is painted in Network SouthEast livery. This unit has since been withdrawn from traffic and scrapped.

Current operations

After rail privatisation in the mid-1990's, the different divisions of British Raill were divided up into different franchises. The three former SR division; South-Eastern, South Central and South-Western; all operated 4Cig units, and are dealt with separately here.

South Eastern Trains

South Eastern Trains (SET) operated a small fleet of three 'Phase 1' and 22 'Phase 2' 4Cig units. The franchise was originally operated by Connex as Connex South Eastern.

All but one of the 'Phase 2' units continued to carry the obsolete Network SouthEast livery. One unit, no. 1870 was repainted into Connex yellow and white. The three 'Phase 1' units were painted in white undercoat livery, since their use was originally only supposed to be short-term. However, despite this, the units remained in traffic for seven more years, from 1997 to 2004. They were popularly known as "Ghosts" by rail enthusiasts.

From 2003, units started to be withdrawn, having been replaced by the second batch of the new "Electrostar" units. The three 'Phase 1' units had gone by mid-2004. The final unit, no. 1843, lingered on for several months longer than its clasmates, and was eventually withdrawn in mid-November 2004. All the SET units have been scrapped.

Class 421/4, no. 1861, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003, on the rear of a service to Brighton. This unit was one of a handful repainted into the new South Central livery.

South Central / Southern

The South Central Division inherited the largest fleet of 4Cig units. Originally, this included all remaining 'Phase 1' units, although some later transferred to South Eastern Trains, 35 'Phase 2' units, and the four 8Dig units. The remaining few 4Big units were also used on the former Central Division.

The South Central franchise was initially won by Connex South Central, who applied their yellow and white livery to most stock. In 2000, they lost the franchise to the Go-Ahead Group, who operated the franchise as South Central. In 2004, this was changed to Southern. Four 'Phase 1' units (nos. 1735/38/40, 1908) and eight 'Phase 2' units (nos. 1854/56-62) received Southern's new green livery.

In 1997, the remaining 4Big units were withdrawn. Eight of these units were transferred to South West Trains. The remaining eleven unit were heavily rebuilt at Eastleigh Works, with compartments removed and opened out, and the buffet carriages withdrawn. The modified units were reclassified as Class 421/7, and renumbered into the 1401-1411 range. The units were also known as 3Cop units, which denoted their intended use, dedicated to East Coastway and West Coastway services out of Brighton. Two units received names, a rarity for slam-door EMU stock.

• 1408 - Littlehampton Progress 2000
• 1409 - Operation Perseus

In 2004 some units were augmented to four carriages, with the addition of a 'Phase 1' intermediate trailer (and thus became 4Cop units).

From 2003, Southern started to replace its slam-door fleet with new Class 377 Electrostar units. In general, the 'Phase 1' units were withdrawn first due to their age, but as deliveries of the Electrostars increased, some 'Phase 2' units were also withdrawn. By late-2004 only a handful of 'Phase 1' units and 4Cop units remained in service. The final 'Phase 1' units in traffic were units 1704/08/11/12/14/17/43 and 1901, with the final unit, no. 1704, being withdrawn in February 2005. The final 4Cop units, nos. 1404/10/11 were withdrawn in March 2005.

Class 421/8, no. 1396, at Clapham Junction on 19 July 2003. This unit is one of eight "Greyhound" units converted from redundant 4Big units for use by South West Trains. The buffet coach was replaced with a spare 4Cep trailer vehicle, which is identifiable by its different profile as the second vehicle in the unit.

South West Trains

South West Trains inherited a fleet a small fleet of twelve 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, and the larger fleet of 22 "Greyhound" units, which had been modified to allow faster acceleration.

In 1997, the fleet was augmented with the addition of eight 4Big units from Connex South Central. These operated with the counter in the buffet carriages out of service. By 1999, the units had been stored.

In 1999 eight additional "Greyhound" units were converted from the redundant 4Big units. The units were reclassified as Class 421/8, and renumbered in the range 1392-1399. The modifications included the removal of the buffer carriages, which were replaced by spare intermediate trailers from 4Cep units. Most of these trailers came from 4Cep units that were converted to 3Cep units, but a few came from withdrawn units. These trailers were immediately recognisable as they have a different body profile to the rest of the unit. The buffet carriages were withdrawn, although many were saved for preservation.

In December 2004, unit no. 1394, was reduced to a three car unit, with the removal of its Cep trailer. It was reclassified as Class 421/7, renumbered to 1499, and dedicated to the "Lymington Flyer" service, replacing the previous incumbent unit, no. 1198.

Withdrawals of units started in mid-2004, as many new Class 444 and Class 450 "Desiro" units have entered service. By the end of 2004, just a handful of units remained in traffic. The final few units were withdrawn in May 2005, with the last units in traffic being 1304/09/12/16, 1392/95-98, 1499 and 1881/90. The final slam-door service ran on 26 May from London Waterloo to Bournemouth using units 1396, 1398 and 4Vep 3536. Following withdrawal, two units, nos. 1304 and 1881 were transferred to "warm-storage" for use by Southern, if required. Most of the other units were sent for scrap, with the exception of nos. 1392 and 1499.

Class 421/7 no. 1498 "Farringford" at Lymington Pier on 26 May 2005. This unit has been restored to 1960s-era British Railways green livery for use on the Lymington Branch Line.

Services on the Lymington Branch Line are now operated as a "heritage" operation using one of two refurbished 3Cig units, nos. 1497 and 1498. The two units have been repainted into their original liveries, and were launched into service on 12 May 2005.

Further use

Following withdrawal from normal service, several vehicles have seen further use in departmental service.

• 3Cop unit 1401 was employed as depot shunter at Ashford Chart Leacon depot. It was made redundant when Chart Leacon stopped overhauls of slam-door stock and was sent for scrap in July 2005.
• MBS 62356 (ex-unit 1850) has been converted into an ultrasonic test train vehicle for use by Network Rail. It has been renumbered 999606.
• The rest of unit 1850, namely DTC 76629, TS 71036 and DTC 76789, are owned by Network Rail to provide spares for 999606.

Preservation

So far, five complete units have been preserved. In addition, numerous buffet cars from 4Big units have also been preserved. The complete list is shown below:

• 'Phase 1' unit 1753 has been preserved by the Network SouthEast Society and is stored at a private location.
• 'Phase 2' "Greyhound" unit 1393, a former 4Big unit, is preserved on the Great Central Railway. It will be operated in push-pull mode with the line's Class 73 locomotive.
• 'Phase 2' "Greyhound" unit 1399, also a former 4Big unit, is preserved on the Dartmoor Railway.
• 4Cig unit 1392 and 3Cig unit 1499 are preserved at the Dean Forest Railway. The latter was previously dedicated to services on the Lymington Branch Line.
• It was hoped that unit 1705 (formerly 7301), the first-built unit, would be preserved by Southern, for use on special excursion trains. Unfortunately, its poor condition precluded this and it was thought that it would be sold for scrap. However, there is now a group attempting to buy this unit for preservation on a heritage railway.
• South West Trains are to retain two 'Phase 2' 3Cig units for use on the Lymington branch.

Unit Number (current in bold)					Type	Phase	DTCsoL	MBSO	TSO (*TSRB)	DTCsoL	Livery	Location	Notes
7032	2101	2251	-	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69302*	-	Network SouthEast	Coventry Railway Centre	-
7034	2110	2260	-	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69304*	-	Network SouthEast	Northampton Ironstone Railway	-
7036	2104	2254	2002	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69306*	-	BR(S) Green	Spa Valley Railway	-
7040	2105	2255	2003	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69310*	-	BR(S) Green	Dartmoor Railway	-
7043	2103	2253	-	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69313*	-	Network SouthEast	East Somerset Railway	-
7046	2108	2258	-	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69316*	-	BR(S) Green	Riccarton Junction	Waverley Route heritage centre.
7048	2109	2259	2004	-	4Big	Phase 1	-	-	69318*	-	BR(S) Green	Colne Valley Railway	-
7051	2203	-	-	-	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69332*	-	Network SouthEast	Dartmoor Railway	-
7053	2205	-	-	-	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69339*	-	Network SouthEast	Coventry Railway Centre	-
7055	2207	2112	2262	2001	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69333*	-	BR(S) Green	Lavender Line	-
7056	2208	-	-	-	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69334*	-	Network SouthEast	East Somerset Railway	-
7057	2209	-	-	-	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69335*	-	LNER Green/Cream	Wensleydale Railway	-
7058	2210	-	-	-	4Big	Phase 2	-	-	69337*	-	BR Green	Hastings Diesels	Operates with preserved Class 201 unit 1001.
7327	1127	1753	-	-	4Cig	Phase 1	76102	62043	70721	76048	Connex	Network SouthEast Society	-
7337	-	1816	1303	-	4Cig	Phase 2	-	62287	-	-	South West Trains	Lincolnshire Wolds Railway	-
7373	-	1819	1306	-	4Cig	Phase 2	-	-	71041	-	South West Trains	Hever railway station	-
7376	1276	2251	1394	1499	3Cig	Phase 2	76726	62364	-	76797	South West Trains	Dean Forest Railway	Dedicated to the "Lymington Flyer" service.
7390	1290	2255	2003	1392	4Cig	Phase 2	76740	62378	70273	76811	South West Trains	Dean Forest Railway	TSOL 70273 is ex-4Cep unit 1530 (ex-7124).
7396	1296	2258	1393	-	4Cig	Phase 2	76746	62384	70527	76817	South West Trains	Great Central Railway	TSOL 70527 is ex-4Cep unit 1589 (ex-7178).
7397	1297	2256	1399	-	4Cig	Phase 2	76747	62385	70508	76818	South West Trains	Dartmoor Railway	TSOL 70508 is ex-4Cep unit 1595 (ex-7159).
7414	1214	1883	1497	-	3Cig	Phase 2	76764	62402	-	76835	BR Blue/Grey	South West Trains	Retained for use on Lymington branch.
7423	1223	1888	1498	-	3Cig	Phase 2	76773	62411	-	76844	BR Green	South West Trains	Retained for use on Lymington branch.

Fleet details

Original-condition Units

Class	Type	No. built (Converted*)	Year built (Converted*)	No. range	Withdrawn	Notes
Class 420	4Big	18	1965-66	7031-7048	1986	Facelifted 1985-86, and renumbered 2101-2112.
		10	1970	7049-7058	1988	Facelifted 1986-88, and renumbered 2201-2210.
Class 421	4Cig	36	1963-66	7301-7336 (later 1101-1136)	1993	Facelifted 1986-1993, and renumbered into 17xx range.
		102	1970-74	7337-7438 (later 1201-1300)	1993	Facelifted 1987-1993, and renumbered into 18xx and 13xx range.
Class 421	8Mig	2*	1983*	2601-2602	1983	Converted back to standard 4Cig.

Facelifted units

Class	Type	No. Converted	Year Converted	No. range	Operator	Units nos.	In Traffic (2005)	Current units	Withdrawn
Class 421/3	4Cig	53	1986-93	1701-1753	SET	1701/42/48	0	-	06/2004
					Southern	1702-14/17/19-22/24-27/31/33-48/50-53	0	-	02/2005
Class 421/4	4Cig	87	1987-93	1801-1826 1831-1891	SET	1806-1813/39-43/70-73/75-79	0	-	11/2004
					Southern	1801-1805/31-35/37/45-48/50/51/53-69/74	2	1805/66	-
					SWT	1880-1891	0	-	05/2005
Class 421/5	4Cig	22	1990-92	1301-1322	SWT	1301-1322	0	-	05/2005
Class 421/6	4Cig	8	1994	1901-1908	Southern	1901-1908	0	-	01/2005
Class 421/7	3Cop	11	1997	1401-1411	Southern	1401-1411	0	-	03/2005
	3Cig	3	2004-05	1497-1499	SWT	1497-1499	2	1497/98	-
Class 421/8	4Cig	8	1999	1392-1399	SWT	1392-1399	0	-	05/2005
Class 422/0	8Dig	4	1992	2001-2004	South Central	2001-2004	0	-	1996
Class 422/1	4Big	10	1985-86	2101-2112	BR	2101-2112	0	-	1989
Class 422/2	4Big	10	1986-88	2201-2210	South Central	2203-06/8-10	0	-	1997
Class 422/3	4Big	12	1989	2251-2262	South Central	2251-62	0	-	1997
					SWT	2251/54-56/58/59/61/62	0	-	1999