BR Class 503

**British Rail Class 503** trains were 65 mph (105 km/h) electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches. The first were in 1938, by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) with a further batch (built to a similar design) in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways (BR). When introduced by the LMS, they were officially known as **Class AM3**. They were designed for, and operated on, the Wirral & Mersey lines from Liverpool to West Kirby, New Brighton, and Rock Ferry. There were few places on their network of closely spaced stations to attain their maximum speed, except for the open section between Moreton and Meols. All but one set were withdrawn and scrapped by 1985. The final set was used on special Merseyrail services until 1988, and this preserved set was kept at the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry until moved to the Locomotive Storage Ltd warehouse at Margate.

## Preservation

A single set, formed of vehicles 28690, 29720 and 29289, was earmarked for preservation. Though never carried on the unit, the set was numbered under the BR TOPS code as *503 019*. This was the last of the units built in 1938 to have been brought into service. The unit is also one of the only two pre-war main line EMUs in existence, which are still in original formation. The other being the 2-BIL belonging to the National Railway Museum.

The set was kept in serviceable condition and operated occasional special trains on the Merseyrail network until 1988. During this period, the set was used for the opening of the electrified line between Rock Ferry and Hooton on 30 September 1985 and for special services during Christmas 1985. At the same time, Merseyrail decided not to preserve a second set, due to a lack of spares. Following this, the surviving set participated in the *Merseyrail 100* celebration on 6 April 1986. The unit, named *Ivor T. Davies G.M.* on 14 March 1988, was purchased by Wirral Borough Council in 1991 and stored at Kirkdale until 1996.

Two parts of the set were then sold and kept at Steamport, Southport. Meanwhile, the Driving Trailer coach (DTS) was kept at the Wirral Transport Museum. The two parts of the unit, which were sold, have been owned by the Suburban Electric Railway Association since purchase by its forerunner, the *Mersey and Tyneside Electric Preservationists* in 1996, and were stored at the Electric Railway Museum on the outskirts of Coventry. After transport of the Driving Trailer coach from Birkenhead, the entire unit was correctly reformed at the Coventry museum in October 2010, for the first time in over 20 years. The Driving Motor coach (DMBS) interior was open to the public during museum open days.

In 2017, the Electric Railway Museum announced that it would be forced to close and relocate its collection. The Class 503 set was moved in May 2018, to the Locomotive Storage Ltd facility in the former Hornby Railways warehouse in Margate.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Maund, T.B. (2009). *The Wirral Railway and its Predecessors*. Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899-88938-9. OCLC 604772937
2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120910140411/http://www.therailwaycentre.com/Recognition%20Tech%20Data%20EMU/EMU\_503.html
3. ↑ http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/Diagram\_Book\_210\_for\_Issue.pdf
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Longworth, Hugh (2015). *British Railways Electric Multiple Units to 1975*. Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 9780860936688. OCLC 923205678
5. ↑ Marsden, Colin J. (1982). *EMUs*. Motive power recognition. **2**. Ian Allan. ISBN 9780711011656. OCLC 16537600
6. ↑ Marsden, Colin J. (2008). *The DC Electrics*. Ian Allan. ISBN 9780860936152. OCLC 318668763
7. ↑ http://www.emus.co.uk/503.htm
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "No green 503". *Rail Enthusiast*. No. 52. EMAP National Publications. January 1986. p. 23. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
9. ↑ "Mersey Railway 100 years old!". *Rail Enthusiast*. No. 55. EMAP. April 1986. p. 27. ISSN 0262-561X.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=2586
11. ↑ http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/preservation/preserved-stock/preservationother.html
12. ↑ http://www.emus.co.uk/who.htm
13. ↑ http://www.emus.co.uk/news.htm
14. ↑ https://theisleofthanetnews.com/last-surviving-mersey-rail-class-503-train-arrives-at-locomotive-storage-in-margate/