History
Beginnings
Crest of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company (picture courtesy of Flickr user akrabat, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
By 1914, Liverpool's rail network had already benefited enormously from the foresight of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway company, which had progressively electrified its suburban lines from Liverpool Exchange station to Southport and Ormskirk. The electric trains were a significant improvement over the steam-hauled carriages they replaced, and passengers were quick to take advantage of the higher speeds and increased frequency of the electric service.
In 1923, the L&Y was absorbed into the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway company (LMS). Locally there was little immediate change, and by the late 1930s the original electric trains were looking dated. Passengers grew increasingly dissatisfied with the ageing rolling stock, leading to calls in local newspapers for new trains.
The 502s arrive
In the early British Railways era, a 502 stands at Southport Chapel Street. (picture courtesy of SERA Archives)
In August 1939, the first of a new batch of LMS-designed Electric Multiple Units was delivered to Meols Cop works for commissioning. Despite the disruption caused by the outbreak of war, all units were in service by 1941 with most of the ex-L&Y cars being withdrawn. The new units consisted of 39 3-car sets, with additional 2-car units (with a driving cab at one end only) used to strengthen the busiest workings.
The new trains were built using the most advanced standards of the time. Notably, they were equipped with automatic sliding doors, controlled by the guard, instead of the manually-operated slamdoors which were still the norm elsewhere on Britain's railways. Each motor car had four 230hp motors supplied by the English Electric Company. The units had a top speed of 70mph, which was easily achieved on the gentle gradients of the Southport and Ormskirk lines. The comfortable interiors and modern interior design were in stark contrast to the elderly L&Y units they replaced.
The British Railways era
Interior of Class 502 driving trailer coach. (picture courtesy of Jason Lovell)
In 1948 the railways were nationalised with the LMS being absorbed into the London Midland region of British Railways. Under BR, the units were designated Class 502.
The post-war years saw a marked decline in the fortunes of the railway, as competition from cars and other road transport increased dramatically. In 1963 Dr Richard Beeching published his now-infamous report “The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways”, which proposed the closure of 6000 miles of railway. An early victim of the cuts was the 502-operated shuttle service to Crossens, which closed along with the rest of the Southport-Preston line in 1964. Locally, one of the most contentious proposals was that the electrified Liverpool-Southport line should close, while the Ormskirk line would have its stopping passenger trains withdrawn.
Both routes were reprieved, although some service reductions did take place. Frequencies were reduced, while the off-peak Ormskirk service was often worked with just 2-car units. Some 502s were rebuilt and reformed as 2-car sets to permit this.
Merseyrail and the “Link”
From 1968 the new rail blue livery was applied to the trains, along with the now familiar double-arrow symbol. This was followed in 1971 by the appearance of a new brand name — “Merseyrail”. This was the name used by the newly-formed Merseyside PTE for the services they jointly administered in partnership with BR. It was also the first step towards the creation of the integrated rail network that exists on Merseyside today.
In 1979 a 502 arrives at the new Moorfields underground station with a Kirkby service (picture courtesy of Geoff Cryer)
Throughout the 1970s much work took place below Liverpool city centre. New tunnels were excavated to connect the ex-L&Y routes with the former Mersey Railway terminus at Liverpool Central. This new route (The “Link”) opened on 2nd May 1977. The former terminus at Exchange was closed, trains from Southport and Ormskirk now running into the new underground station built nearby at Moorfields, before continuing on to Liverpool Central.
The final years of the 502s' careers saw them appearing on new parts of the network. From 1977 they appeared at Kirkby, working over a newly-electrified part of the Liverpool to Bolton line, while in 1978 they commenced operation on another extension to the network: the former Cheshire Lines Committee route from Liverpool Central to Garston. These routes were grouped together as Merseyrail's Northern Line.
Decline and Withdrawal
Unfortunately, the new routes took their toll on the 502s. The 1 in 30 gradients on the Link were much steeper than anything these units had previously encountered. A test on Leeds Street Bank (where the line climbs from Moorfields to join the original route, just south of Sandhills) was carried out with a 502 accelerating from a standing start on the gradient. The motors reportedly gave off enough heat to fry an egg, and consequently an order was given that all trains must have a clear run from Moorfields.
The increased frequency meant that the trains were being used more intensively, with inevitable consequences for maintenance and reliability. The units were also suffering from corrosion, with some of the worst victims being scrapped early, leaving the rest of the fleet to soldier on.
The beginning of the end for the 502s came in 1978, when the first class 507 unit was delivered from BREL's York works. Over the next two years the 502s were progressively withdrawn, the final service train running on 1st September 1980. This was followed by a farewell tour the following weekend.
Preservation
The preserved unit is seen working a special service at Birkenhead North in 1986 (picture courtesy of Clive Hanley)
A 2-car set, formed of motor car 28361 and driving trailer 29896, was earmarked for preservation by the National Railway Museum. As there was a chance that the unit could run again, it was placed on extended loan to the Steamport railway centre at Southport.
The museum's own volunteers, supported by The Northwest Friends of the NRM, began work on restoring the unit. Progress was slow, but by the end of 1983 the unit had been overhauled and rewired, using spare parts acquired from scrapped sets. In November 1983 the unit was taken out onto Southport carriage sidings for a trial run. With team members and NRM management looking on, a sigh of relief was breathed by all concerned when the driver applied power and the unit moved away smoothly.
In 1986, British Rail began formulating plans for the 100th anniversary of the Mersey Railway. The Steamport team was approached with a view to using the 502 as part of the celebrations. With the help of the workshops at Birkenhead North, who repainted the unit into LMS colours, the unit was ready just in time for the anniversary commemoration on 6th April 1986. The unit entered service on a special shuttle between Birkenhead North and Hoylake, making the 502 the first privately-restored EMU to work a revenue-earning train on the BR network.
The unit subsequently returned to Southport, where it remained available for enthusiast specials for several years. During this time the LMS livery was modified by the addition of yellow safety panels.
In 1989 the unit was due for an overhaul. There were no resources available at the time for this, and so the unit was retired from the main line. It remained on display to Steamport visitors until 1997, when the museum closed.
Deterioration
Trailer car 29896 in store at Kineton in 2007 (picture courtesy of Jason Lovell)
Most of Steamport's exhibits moved to their new site at the Ribble Steam Railway, Preston. However there was no role there for the 502, so Steamport's loan of the unit was ended and it was returned to the National Railway Museum. There was no space at the NRM's York site for the 502, which was placed into storage at MoD Kineton.
Although Kineton was secure from vandals, there was no covered accommodation available and the 502 was open to the elements. Within a short time, the bodywork began to rust. Corrosion had been a problem throughout the life of the 502s, and only regular preventative maintenance kept the problem at bay. In open storage, with no maintenance for many years, the bodywork deteriorated severely.
Power car 28361 in store at Kineton in 2007 (picture courtesy of Jason Lovell)
This situation continued for the next 11 years. The NRM, with its limited resources, had to focus on rolling stock of more general interest than the 502, and the unit continued to deteriorate From time to time preservation groups expressed an interest in taking on the unit, however all these proposals came to nothing.
In 2008 matters came to a head, as the management at Kineton gave the NRM notice to quit the site. Fortunately, around the same time, the Friends of the 502 Group had come into existence. Following negotiations with the NRM, the 502 moved from Kineton to a private site in Tebay, Cumbria, in May 2009.