That's what I love to see British Rail locomotives, rolling stock, DMUs, EMUs, EDMU, DEMUS etc all in heritage liveries! Beautiful shiny BR livery stunning what a beautiful piece of British railway engineering the BR 4 VEPs are! Here is hoping for many other BR classes in heritage liveries! The two Class 73s are beautiful too! 😍
Sadly, Rail Blue was pretty susceptible to carriage washing chemicals, I assume, because for the first decade 4-VEPs could look very tired and tatty quite quickly. There was a long-overdue Hastings DEMU in very faded green for a while, but Southern Region green was pretty tough in general.
I used to drive these units, along & in multiple with CIGs, BIGs, CEPs, BEPs, HAPs, SAPs, EPBs & MLVs +455 & anything else I've forgotten in the 1980's when based at London Bridge & Bognor Regis.... It is indeed quite possible that I drove this unit myself (or it formed part of my train) many times... They were just considered utilitarian. Nice paint job though. I also drove Class 33+TC, Class 37, 47 & 50 locomotives, plus Class 101, 102, 121, 142, 143, 150, 153 & 158s when I later moved to the Western Region. Now long retired after more than 40 years service....
This is amazing, a set of Slam Door units revived, I remember travelling these back in the early 80's between Waterloo to Southern region Stations, looks impeccable condition, The 73's were a bonus too.
Last time I used a slam door set was on a visit back to UK in 2005. Guildford - Waterloo via Effingham Junction. The 73’s must be one the most versatile and long-lived BR designed and built locomotives. Thanks for the trip back in time, well done Bluebell Railway!
I remember these from 1967 when they were introduced on semi-fast services on the LSWR mainline. I took them to and from Woking to Waterloo to got to school. They never were as clean as this then! Lovely to see one again, even though I'm a steam fan.
that brings back many wonderful memories of draughty commutes into London from Kent. I used to work with Paul Taylor in the 90s, RIP mate, you were and still are Mr Electro Diesel. Very poignant.
Brilliant, so nice to see, hope it will be out using the juice rail, and when the restored Brighton Bell unit is back lots to look forward to. Great job to all those who have made this possible.
You could be right! With Slam door southern units u can always tell by the style of windows what class it was. Southern always used that face of their trains! Where as other regions had different look to the front eg class 309 clacton express! Last time I ever went on slam door was in 2005 when southern replaced them with the 377 electrostars Happy days!
A fantastic paint job - the original livery was much better than the later blue and white. Must admit I wasn’t a great lover of the 4-VEPs. As a commuter from Kent into London I found them terribly cramped and spent many hours standing or, worse still, sitting in the middle of the 3-place seat with two hefty blokes either side of me. But it’s great to see they’ve restored one.
At 0:42 probably would have made me jump too lol. I saw your reply to someone in comments about investing in a tripod, probably a good idea!! 👍 Enjoyed the video 💯
1992 we went to the UK from Austria on a school trip. I remember going from London Victoria to Brighton on this type of train. The concept of your "own" door was new to us. If I remember correctly you could open the door only from the outside by open the window right?
Great video. Nice to hear the VEP compressors/generators running, even if it's not entirely under it's own power yet. Do we know why the 73s were running in Diesel mode? Seems a bit odd.
The 4VEP is undergoing heavy restoration. I’m not sure if its traction motors are serviceable at this time. Furthermore, the unit will require the fitting of certain modern safety systems, such as an OTMR data recorder and a GSMR radio to each cab before it can be driven on the mainline on its own.
@@Jeagles The traction motors were in use on this day! On the third rail sections it was actually providing power along with the 73s, so the consist had some 4200hp in total. They needed the 73s to move the unit though as like you stated it lacks the modern safety equipment currently. They are crowd funding to finance the acquisition and fitting of said equipment though.
Fantastic! 👍 Isn’t that the ex “Borough of Eastleigh” 73? And of course the 4VEP set was stored on power at Eastleigh for a few years to prevent it being vandalised at EG. Fantastic job but some credit is definitely due to Knights Rail Services
Looks absolutely beautiful look at the first class, and when that was at its peak toilets were much better than today strains . Where was it going to some railway museum?
It looks absolutely magnificent. Like others here, I also wondered why it was topped and tailed, but from the answers given, I now understand. It certainly would be great to see it running under its own power, but one question- Has it been fitted with the necessary central door locking for it to run on the main line?
Agreed re body work. I recall the original finish was not so glossy due to painting process. Why a class 73 at both ends? Are the driving trailers cosmetic?
The cabs will need the fitting of modern safety equipment before they are allowed to lead the train. All trains on the mainline these days need a GSMR radio and an OTMR data recorder which the group are still raising funds to buy and install.
Would be wonderful to see it visit herriage lines that have a mainline connection. I am thinking in particular of the Bluebell Line. The diesels would be needed of course.
One of the ideas for the Bluebell Railway's Ardingly branch from Horsted Keynes (that might one day go as far as Haywards Heath) would be the add the third Rail and use it to demonstrate heritage electric trains. This branch was actually third rail electrified until closure and track removal in 1963 and once provided a through service to Seaford from Horsted Keynes - as a child I can remember seeing elderly 2 car EMUs at Horsted Keynes.
I'm curious why it can't run on the DC. I just looked at the group page it does not have OTMR or central door locking so I'll send a donation to the group. Perhaps Hastings Diesels can help after they got their DEMU certified.
To shunt the train in the yard, the 73s used diesel to avoid potentially stalling in the gaps in the third rail associated with complex pointwork found in depots
I think they’re still working on it. The 4VEP is a total restoration but the 5BEL is being completely rebuilt with new cabs, traction equipment, interiors etc. So progress is slow for them.
It needs a little bit more work before it can venture out on the mainline alone. The 4VEPs have always had windows like that to my knowledge, perhaps you are thinking of the similar 4CIGs which had windows like the ones in normal MkI coaches.
the big hurdle stopping it currently is that it need to be fitted with modern equipment primarily GSM-R, OTMR and CDL before its allowed run on its own
@@Jeagles They were built with single sliding toplights but after a while they were screwed shut. Later on the windows were replaced without the toplights ie a single sheet of glass (double glazed). The guard's compartment and luggage space originally occupied half the power cars but the luggage areas were cut down and an additional passenger compartment was created giving about 20 more seats.
It’s based at Strawberry Hill Depot in Southwest London. The group are working hard to get it back to a standard where it can run on its own with passengers but as of now it cannot.
No heritage train will use the same paint, several decades later, more reliable and stable paints exist, and as they are private companies and not part of the same company, no two heritage liveries will use the same shade, so one charter companies Blue will look potentially drastically different from another.
That was a diffrent Unit, a 4TC. This is a 4VEP. They are both MK1 design, but the 4VEP is a EMU and the 4TC is just fixed coaches with a cab at each end. They were used for trains running onto Weymouth from Bournemouth, having been pushed there by 4REP EMU's.
Yes, it was a very poorly paid job but we did it because we loved it. If it hadn't had been for privatisation the wages may be half what they are now and of course the same across the country, apart from London weighting (cost of living supplement).
Why is that old school slam door train being pulled by that diesel loco when there’s 3rd rail on the tracks🤔🤔🤔 what I can tell that’s a southern br class I can tell! collection method is 3rd rail???
it requires modern equipment primarily Central Door Locking, new (GSM-R) cab radios and OTMR (railway equivalent of aircraft black boxes, until that's fitted its only allowed to be hauled locomotive, also the 73s have the issue that they're short enough that they can lose power when when traversing large conductor rail gaps at low speed so the diesel engine is being used
What a stunning paintjob - looks better than new! Top marks to everyone involved in the restoration!
Shame that they didn't bother with the roof.
That would be The Bluebell Railway
@@peterdean8009The roof doesn’t need doing, but if you’d like to pay for a new paint job we’d love to hear from you!
That's what I love to see British Rail locomotives, rolling stock, DMUs, EMUs, EDMU, DEMUS etc all in heritage liveries! Beautiful shiny BR livery stunning what a beautiful piece of British railway engineering the BR 4 VEPs are! Here is hoping for many other BR classes in heritage liveries! The two Class 73s are beautiful too! 😍
Sadly, Rail Blue was pretty susceptible to carriage washing chemicals, I assume, because for the first decade 4-VEPs could look very tired and tatty quite quickly. There was a long-overdue Hastings DEMU in very faded green for a while, but Southern Region green was pretty tough in general.
@@bingbong7316Remember the Jaffa Cake livery - South Central?
I used to drive these units, along & in multiple with CIGs, BIGs, CEPs, BEPs, HAPs, SAPs, EPBs & MLVs +455 & anything else I've forgotten in the 1980's when based at London Bridge & Bognor Regis.... It is indeed quite possible that I drove this unit myself (or it formed part of my train) many times... They were just considered utilitarian. Nice paint job though. I also drove Class 33+TC, Class 37, 47 & 50 locomotives, plus Class 101, 102, 121, 142, 143, 150, 153 & 158s when I later moved to the Western Region. Now long retired after more than 40 years service....
Nuff respect for all Your experience and service .😊👍🏾👍🏾
This is amazing, a set of Slam Door units revived, I remember travelling these back in the early 80's between Waterloo to Southern region Stations, looks impeccable condition, The 73's were a bonus too.
Last time I used a slam door set was on a visit back to UK in 2005. Guildford - Waterloo via Effingham Junction. The 73’s must be one the most versatile and long-lived BR designed and built locomotives. Thanks for the trip back in time, well done Bluebell Railway!
I remember these from 1967 when they were introduced on semi-fast services on the LSWR mainline. I took them to and from Woking to Waterloo to got to school. They never were as clean as this then! Lovely to see one again, even though I'm a steam fan.
that brings back many wonderful memories of draughty commutes into London from Kent. I used to work with Paul Taylor in the 90s, RIP mate, you were and still are Mr Electro Diesel. Very poignant.
Having Paul with us, even at a remove, was a fantastic touch. There were a few moist eyes at Waterloo….
Great to see this fine unit back on the system 😊
Brilliant, so nice to see, hope it will be out using the juice rail, and when the restored Brighton Bell unit is back lots to look forward to. Great job to all those who have made this possible.
At last, a train with decent seats
Also you can look out of the window and not a window pillar unlike todays trains where more seats are crammed in so not many line up with a window
@@cedarcamplus the windows will be clean!
@@terrier_productions Yea. :)
Owned by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society.
0:46 glad to see i wasn't the only one who jumped lol
Amazing to see a 73 in 'Dutch' livery too. What a feast for the eyes
Beautiful Restoration, stunning could be 1965
You could be right! With Slam door southern units u can always tell by the style of windows what class it was. Southern always used that face of their trains! Where as other regions had different look to the front eg class 309 clacton express! Last time I ever went on slam door was in 2005 when southern replaced them with the 377 electrostars Happy days!
...and suddenly it's 1976 again, and I'm on my way home from school!
A fantastic paint job - the original livery was much better than the later blue and white. Must admit I wasn’t a great lover of the 4-VEPs. As a commuter from Kent into London I found them terribly cramped and spent many hours standing or, worse still, sitting in the middle of the 3-place seat with two hefty blokes either side of me. But it’s great to see they’ve restored one.
2:55 "Calling at Kew Gardens, Gunnersbury, Earl's Court and Upminster". That's an _express_ District Line train!
it looks like a brand new train i can't wait to see it running under it's own power again!!! Good video 🥰
73119 + 3417 Vep look absolutely fantastic - Great Video of them on the Test Run - Can't wait to see 3417 and 73119 Soon
Glad you held on to the camera when the horn went lol
I need to invest in a tripod :/
Saw this at Waterloo yesterday morning. Fabulous job.
excellent catch 👍i remember the old slam door trains on the southeastern line hope they do another run like this as i missed it this time around
At 0:42 probably would have made me jump too lol.
I saw your reply to someone in comments about investing in a tripod, probably a good idea!! 👍
Enjoyed the video 💯
1992 we went to the UK from Austria on a school trip. I remember going from London Victoria to Brighton on this type of train. The concept of your "own" door was new to us. If I remember correctly you could open the door only from the outside by open the window right?
This is so cool to see!
Great video. Nice to hear the VEP compressors/generators running, even if it's not entirely under it's own power yet. Do we know why the 73s were running in Diesel mode? Seems a bit odd.
Electricity is very pricey these days...
They switched to electric later (as seen in the last clip) but they used diesel around the depot to avoid “gapping” on the third rail
@@Jeagles Ah ok. Makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.
top marks well done looks fantastic
Looks superb , would like to see it in its original 7717 number though .
As a non railway person, why the 73s? Surely a VEP can run on the 3rd rail on its own?
The 4VEP is undergoing heavy restoration. I’m not sure if its traction motors are serviceable at this time.
Furthermore, the unit will require the fitting of certain modern safety systems, such as an OTMR data recorder and a GSMR radio to each cab before it can be driven on the mainline on its own.
@@Jeagles The traction motors were in use on this day! On the third rail sections it was actually providing power along with the 73s, so the consist had some 4200hp in total.
They needed the 73s to move the unit though as like you stated it lacks the modern safety equipment currently. They are crowd funding to finance the acquisition and fitting of said equipment though.
@@unholyphish I thought I could hear something running on the unit on the guard's van coach.
Top video mate 👍 love to see 3417 get out from the depot. Bonus 73 thrash and all 😁
Cheers Nami
Wow, these units look fantastic. I remember taking class 423 trains from Gatwick to Victoria and they did not look this good.
I remember these coming into service to replace pre and early post war stock. More reliable and comfortable.
Looks and sounds stunning! How are they going to manage the central door locking and to get a safety case approved?
Fantastic! 👍 Isn’t that the ex “Borough of Eastleigh” 73? And of course the 4VEP set was stored on power at Eastleigh for a few years to prevent it being vandalised at EG.
Fantastic job but some credit is definitely due to Knights Rail Services
Looks absolutely beautiful look at the first class, and when that was at its peak toilets were much better than today strains . Where was it going to some railway museum?
Off to Waterloo and then back for a small staff event and as a little test for the unit
It looks absolutely magnificent.
Like others here, I also wondered why it was topped and tailed, but from the answers given, I now understand. It certainly would be great to see it running under its own power, but one question- Has it been fitted with the necessary central door locking for it to run on the main line?
It does not yet have CDL yet although they are planning to fit it once they have the funds
Amazing video
Agreed re body work. I recall the original finish was not so glossy due to painting process. Why a class 73 at both ends? Are the driving trailers cosmetic?
The cabs will need the fitting of modern safety equipment before they are allowed to lead the train. All trains on the mainline these days need a GSMR radio and an OTMR data recorder which the group are still raising funds to buy and install.
Looking forward to seeing it travel under it’s own power.
Beautiful job and anyone making a film depicting commuters from the recent past need look no further than
Is it able to run on its own with the 3rd rail pick up
Big flinch at the first tone, LOLZ
Proper livery is that.
Would be wonderful to see it visit herriage lines that have a mainline connection. I am thinking in particular of the Bluebell Line. The diesels would be needed of course.
id hope it would visit the bluebell at some point considering they own it
One of the ideas for the Bluebell Railway's Ardingly branch from Horsted Keynes (that might one day go as far as Haywards Heath) would be the add the third Rail and use it to demonstrate heritage electric trains. This branch was actually third rail electrified until closure and track removal in 1963 and once provided a through service to Seaford from Horsted Keynes - as a child I can remember seeing elderly 2 car EMUs at Horsted Keynes.
Brilliant!!!
I wish the preserved trains have power on the railway to hear the classic motor sounds EE507
I'm curious why it can't run on the DC. I just looked at the group page it does not have OTMR or central door locking so I'll send a donation to the group. Perhaps Hastings Diesels can help after they got their DEMU certified.
OTMR, central door locking, modern TPWS.
@@bfapple It has TPWS
I always think its sad to see a class 73 not using the third rail as that was the whole point of them being electro-diesel
We’re so back
Amazing
How come the 73 is running on diesel here?
To shunt the train in the yard, the 73s used diesel to avoid potentially stalling in the gaps in the third rail associated with complex pointwork found in depots
Love seeing myself on yt😂😂 good shot
My word, that looks smart.
Whatever happened to the plan to get a Brighton Belle unit back on the mainline?
I think they’re still working on it. The 4VEP is a total restoration but the 5BEL is being completely rebuilt with new cabs, traction equipment, interiors etc. So progress is slow for them.
Is it purely under the power of the 73 currently?
I’ve heard conflicting things but I don’t think it was powering itself
@@Jeagles it didn’t sound like it, did it? Those VEPs (or any of those EMUs) have such a distinctive sound. That seemed to be pure 73 on dc!
@@Jeagles ua-cam.com/video/bCIxQcsRUTg/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
so it still can't move without a loco then ? there is something not quite right with the windows, not how i remember these units
It needs a little bit more work before it can venture out on the mainline alone.
The 4VEPs have always had windows like that to my knowledge, perhaps you are thinking of the similar 4CIGs which had windows like the ones in normal MkI coaches.
the big hurdle stopping it currently is that it need to be fitted with modern equipment primarily GSM-R, OTMR and CDL before its allowed run on its own
@@Jeagles
They were built with single sliding toplights but after a while they were screwed shut. Later on the windows were replaced without the toplights ie a single sheet of glass (double glazed). The guard's compartment and luggage space originally occupied half the power cars but the luggage areas were cut down and an additional passenger compartment was created giving about 20 more seats.
Where is it stored and can we go on it
It’s based at Strawberry Hill Depot in Southwest London. The group are working hard to get it back to a standard where it can run on its own with passengers but as of now it cannot.
@@Jeagles I’m in Milton Keynes but I grew up in south London and strawberry hill I think was Wimbledon
When will the 4VEP 3417 run on it's own power?
Is that an underslung diesel generator at 0:20, or just a compressor?
Just the compressor I believe
motor generator is what can be heard there
Gleaming 😎😎
Is that standard BR blue? It looks a little darker? If not to what southern area region does it belong?
No heritage train will use the same paint, several decades later, more reliable and stable paints exist, and as they are private companies and not part of the same company, no two heritage liveries will use the same shade, so one charter companies Blue will look potentially drastically different from another.
Shame the leading 73 was running on diesel when there was a perfectly good juice rail it could've used.
It had to use diesel in the yard, but it was switched to electric during its journey to Waterloo
Hellfire
seems the slam doors have gone for safety reasons surely one of thereasons for preserving th thing
They’ll have to be CDL fitted before the unit returns to service but in order to save costs some of the doors will be permanently locked out of use
Can someone tell me what happened i saw this train once in a vedeo painted in London transport maroon
That was a diffrent Unit, a 4TC. This is a 4VEP. They are both MK1 design, but the 4VEP is a EMU and the 4TC is just fixed coaches with a cab at each end. They were used for trains running onto Weymouth from Bournemouth, having been pushed there by 4REP EMU's.
Ok thanks also what is VEP
@@Thedclasstank type in on Google, 4VEP 3417 and it will tell you everything you need to know.
@@Thedclasstank Go on Google and type in '3417 4VEP' and it will tell you all about them.
Nice 👍
Ah!!! Back to the days when quality and style were the fashion. Oh and when a majority of the staff actually loved working on the railway,
Yes, it was a very poorly paid job but we did it because we loved it. If it hadn't had been for privatisation the wages may be half what they are now and of course the same across the country, apart from London weighting (cost of living supplement).
@0:46 Hah! You jumped 😂
Why is that old school slam door train being pulled by that diesel loco when there’s 3rd rail on the tracks🤔🤔🤔 what I can tell that’s a southern br class I can tell! collection method is 3rd rail???
it requires modern equipment primarily Central Door Locking, new (GSM-R) cab radios and OTMR (railway equivalent of aircraft black boxes, until that's fitted its only allowed to be hauled locomotive, also the 73s have the issue that they're short enough that they can lose power when when traversing large conductor rail gaps at low speed so the diesel engine is being used
They only used the Diesel engines on the 73s for shunting, they were running on electric once they got out onto the mainline
When will the 4VEP 3417 run on it's own power?
@@carlwalker4808 once its had all the previously mentioned equipment fitted, SETG currently have a fundraiser going to finance it
I Thought Class 73’s Could Also Run On Third Rail
They can
What's the current obsession with naming everything?.