The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced for the electrification of the North Clyde line in Strathclyde. They were initially classified as AM3 units before the introduction of TOPS. British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ... The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. ... Strathclyde was one of the regional council areas of Scotland from 1974 to 1996. ... This article is about the railroad stock management system TOPS. For the DEC PDP-10 operating systems, see TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 The Total Operations Processing System, better known by its initials TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock (railroad cars) owned by a...

The units were later used on the Cathcart Circle, Inverclyde and Argyle lines of the Glasgow suburban railway network as various electrification schemes came to fruition. Inverclyde Line is a railway line in Glasgow. ... The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. ...

Description

Ninety-one 3-car units were built by Pressed Steel in Glasgow, from 1959-1961, although they were not introduced into service until 1960. A further 19 near-identical Class 311 units were built in 1967 following the Inverclyde electrification, although these units were built by Cravens in Sheffield. Glasgows location in Scotland Glasgow is Scotlands largest city, located on the River Clyde in West Central Scotland. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Description The British Rail Class 311 electrical multiple unit was built by Cravens at Sheffield in 1967. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. ...

When new, the units were initially numbered in the range 001-091, but were later renumbered to 303001-091. Each unit consisted of 3-cars coupled together in a semi-permanent formation, and two sets could be operated in multiple to form a 6-car formation. The two outer carriages of each unit were driving trailers, with an intermediate motor coach containing the motor bogies and electrical gear. Units operated off the standard 25kV AC overhead system, with power collection via a pantograph on the motor coach. The technical description of the formation was DTSO+MBSO+BDTSO. Individual vehicle numbers are shown below. Categories: Rail stubs | Rail technologies ...

• 75566-75600 and 75746-75801 - DTSO
• 61481-61515 and 61812-61867 - MBSO
• 75601-75635 and 75802-75857 - BDTSO

The class was built in two batches; units 303001-035 were built 1959-60 and units 303036-091 were built 1960-61.

The electrical gear of the Class 303 units was made by Metrovick and the units had many features which made them state of the art at the time of their introduction. This included the use of pneumatically operated sliding passenger doors, which were centrally operated by the driver of the train. Other distinctive features included the wrap-around front cab windows (although these were removed in the '70s) and the glass partitions in the carriages which allowed passengers in the front and rearmost carriages to see the drivers' view of the track ahead.

The Class 303 fleet were nicknamed the "Blue Trains" upon their introduction, owing to the striking Caledonian Blue livery. This was later changed to the standard BR Blue, quickly superseded by BR Blue/Grey livery in the later 1960s and early 1970s. British Rail and its privatised successors have been good at creating brand names for their new products, designed to catch the eye and imagination of current and potential travellers. ... The Caledonian Railway was a Scottish Railway company which was grouped in to the London Midland and Scottish Railway by the Railways Act 1921 in 1923. ... Rail Blue was one of British Rails corporate colors. ... Rail Blue was one of British Rails corporate colors. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Refurbishment

In 1984, the ScotRail-sector of British Rail began a major refurbishment programme for the 25-year old units. Among the many improvements, connection doors between coaches and pushbutton passenger door controls were introduced along with all-new interiors, new fluorescent lighting and most units received new windows with "hopper-style" windows. The glass bulkheads behind the driving cabs however would be one casualty of the refurbishment - passengers could no longer see the driver's view through the front windows. Following refurbishment, units were repainted in the striking new orange/black livery introduced by newly-created Strathclyde PTE. 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... SPT redirects here. ...

Decline

Most of the remaining unfurbished units had been withdrawn at the end of the 1980s, following introduction of new Class 320 units introduced on the North Clyde route in 1990. A few survived though, and were transferred south for suburban trains around Manchester. All but one of these, no. 303048, were withdrawn by the mid-1990s. This unit was transferred north again to Glasgow, and retained in unfurbished condition for special trains. It was originally intended to preserved this unit, but due to asbestos-contamination it was scrapped in 1996. Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... Asbestos (Greek a-, not; sbestos, extinguishable) is a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Following privatisation of British Rail, the surviving 40 units passed to the ScotRail franchise. By now electrification around Glasgow had spread, and units could be found working on many routes, such as those to Gourock, Balloch, Motherwell and Coatbridge to name a few. Four units, nos. 303019/021/023/087 received SPT's attractive new carmine/cream livery. ... Categories: Stub | Scottish seaside resorts ... Motherwell is a Scottish town, in northern Lanarkshire, between Glasgow and Edinburgh. ... Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. ... SPT redirects here. ...

However, the Class 303 fleet was on borrowed-time. As part of ScotRail's franchise commitment, new Class 334 "Juniper" units were built from 1999-2000 by Alstom to replace the last of the elderly units. After a plagued introduction, the "Juniper" fleet started to enter service in large numbers on the SPT network in 2001/2002, allowing the Class 303 units to be withdrawn. Following withdrawal, the units were towed to Immingham RFT for scrap. The last Class 303 train operated on the North Clyde Line on 30 December 2002, specially formed of two units, nos. 303011 and 303088. When the service terminated at Helensburgh Central, the era of the 303 was finally over. British Rail and its privatised successors have been good at creating brand names for their new products, designed to catch the eye and imagination of current and potential travellers. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Corporation stubs | Companies of France ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Immingham is a village near Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, located on the River Humber. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Through its 42-year career, the Class 303 fleet was a much loved and accepted part of the fabric of Glaswegian life, and happily one unit has been saved for preservation.

Further Use

A few vehicles were converted for departmental use, following withdrawal from service.

• BDTSO 75613 from unit 303013 is currently used by the British Transport Police at Gravesend.
• Unit 303049 was converted into a test unit, numbered 303999. It was used by Network SouthEast from 1991 until 1996, and was later scrapped.

A British Transport Police motorcycle in London The British Transport Police (BTP) is a national police service for the railway system throughout Great Britain. ... Gravesend is a town in North-West Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. ... A train in NSE livery Network SouthEast (NSE) was a sector of British Rail that principally operated commuter trains in the London area. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Preservation

One complete unit has been saved for preservation. It is a hybrid unit consisting of the driving vehicles from set 303032 and the motor coach from 303023, which replaced 303032's own damaged motor coach. Unit 303023 was one of only four to carry the later SPT carmine/cream livery.

• 303032 - 75597 + 61503 + 75632 - Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway

A complete Class 311 unit, which were almost identical to the Class 303s, has also been preserved. The Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, operates virtually the entire Bo’ness branch of the former North British Railway on the Firth of Forth. ... Description The British Rail Class 311 electrical multiple unit was built by Cravens at Sheffield in 1967. ...