Nearly 200 4-car units were built between 1967 and 1974. Each set consisted of a driving car (having an open second class saloon and several first class compartments), a motor coach with a brake van and 2nd class seating incorporated, a centre (trailer) coach providing 98 second class seats, and finally another driving car with a mix of first and 2nd seating. They spent their entire lives working suburban services on the Southern region of BR, and due to the nature of their work were constructed with a door for every seating bay. They were face-lifted in the late 1980's with some of the original features being replaced. Finally they were taken out of service in the early 2000's as they were not allowed to work on the National Network beyond the
Ex works 76712 - help us preserve the rest of the set
Preservation of electric units from Southern England has been difficult owing to the fact they need a 750V third rail electric supply to operate, infrastructure no preserved railway in the UK currently has. When the Southern Electric units were being withdrawn
from service, preserved railways started picking suitable units for heritage lines. As the 4-VEPs have three times as many doors to maintain as similar classes, they were immediately at a disadvantage. Four Class 411 sets and five Class 421 sets have been saved, but this VEP is the sole complete unit of it's class to be secured for future use
on a preserved line. Only one more complete set (423 417) remains in
service, and it is hoped this unit will pass into preservation.
restoration of the only (current)
complete 4-VEP in preservation.
Contact a member of staff for
more information
As you can see the unit is by no means finished. In the lead up to the gala two of the four coaches were overhauled at Cheddleton and some of the work involved was:
-The removal of all the windows to restore and reseal
them as
water had been getting in.
-Bodywork restoration and a full repaint into BR Blue as well as
attention to running gear and the roof.
-Interior work such as rotten floors, reupholstering seats and
thoroughly cleaning the material.
-Work on doors and other passenger equipment.
You may notice remaining undesirable features such as the
graffiti on the windows, but please recognise the many hours
put in just to get this far. You can help us restore and maintain
this interesting train by contacting one of the staff (such as the
guard) and asking for more information.
Our unit is a hybrid with three coaches
coming from 785 I and a fourth from
7800. It arrived on the Churnet Valley
Railway in 2005 and was immediately
utilised as an air braked set of coaches.
It ran for a Diesel Gala and Ghost Train
event in worn "Connex" livery but was
removed from service soon after. It
then spent two years in storage before
being brought back to Cheddleton for a
return to service, the plan being for it
to appear at the 2008 Diesel Gala. Much effort has gone into restoring this unit with many members of the MPD, Staffordshire Type 4 and DMU groups putting their own restoration projects on hold to get the VEP back in traffic.
