6Pul 3041 just south of Balham
Foxley Slide 83 available to purchase from SEG Sales

In 1929 the Southern Railway decided to extend its third rail electrified network beyond the suburban area to Brighton and to operate the newly electrified service with a new fleet of main line electric multiple units (EMUs) rather than with electric locomotives and hauled stock.

The 6 Pul units 2001-2020 (renumbered 3001-3020 at the beginning of 1937) were put into stock between October and December 1932.  They consisted of two driving motor brake saloon thirds flanking a trailer third, two trailer composites and a Pullman kitchen composite.

A further three similar units, designated 6 Cit and numbered 2041-2043 (later 3041-3043), built at the same time, had three trailer firsts in place of the third and two composites and were primarily for use on the prestige "City Limited" 8.45 am business service from Brighton to London Bridge and 5.0 pm return.

Overall, the design of the non-Pullman cars was based on the Southern's contemporary main line steam stock, designed by Surrey Warner under REL Maunsell - traditional in style, with extensive use of varnished hardwood internal finishes and comfortable, hammock-sprung seating.

The Southern's standard coupling arrangement of a chain and a single telescopic buffer pressing against a rubbing-block, as used within units of non-express stock, was not suitable for use on gangwayed coaches.  Trials circa 1926 with automatic buckeye couplings similar to those used on steam stock had not proved successful in electric traction so the electric express stock was fitted with spring-loaded buffers throughout.  Gangway connections were provided between coaches within each unit but, as each unit was self-sufficient for catering, no inter-unit gangways were provided.  With a domed roof, a slightly bowed front end that had two almost square windows and a central headcode panel, and with only a single control jumper to clutter its appearance these units, together with their Pan and Bel sisters, were perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing of the Southern Electric fleets.

Motor coaches

Two contractors, the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. (BRCW) and the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Co. (MCWF) had each built a prototype driving motor brake saloon Third coach and the order for the production batch of motor coaches was divided between these two suppliers.  Both prototypes and production cars were of all-steel construction.

The internal layout was full width driving cab, guard's/luggage compartment with periscope lookout and armchair seat, vestibule, saloon with 2+2 seating either side of a central gangway, vestibule and corridor connection.  However, whereas the prototypes had 56 seats in seven bays, the van area of the production cars was increased and the saloon reduced to 6½  bays divided into two saloons of 3½ and 3 bays.  Each saloon bay had a single large balanced droplight, designed to open up to seven inches and held in place by a handle at the bottom.  The two prototypes were incorporated into the 6 Cit units, presumably because their relatively small van areas would be less of a problem on this dedicated commuter service.

As the new express stock was not required to work in multiple with the Southern's existing fleet of suburban EMUs, the opportunity was taken to update the specification for the traction and control systems.  Instead of the then-standard arrangement for suburban stock, with all-electric traction control gear mounted above floor level at the rear of the driving cab of each motor coach, the new fleet had electro-pneumatic traction control switchgear mounted in boxes below the underframe.  Another departure from the previous Southern Electric standard was the use of a 5kW motor-generator set to supply low voltage power for lighting, control and other auxiliary systems.

Although most of this electrical equipment was supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers the traction motors were supplied by British Thomson-Houston (BTH), designated type 163 - both companies were members of the AEI group at this time.

Each motor coach had two equalising beam motor bogies with a 9ft wheelbase and 3ft 7in wheels.  A traction motor powered each axle through gear ratios designed to give a top speed of 75mph.  This arrangement gave a very substantial 3,600hp per 12-car train.  Even when driven with moderation, these heavy bogies with their high un-sprung mass often delivered a rough ride.

6 Pul and 6 Cit units could operate in multiple with each other and with 6-Pan and 5 Bel stock.  They could also work in multiple with the later 4 Cor. family of types.  Normally both control jumpers would be connected but when Pul/Cit/Bel/Pan stock was coupled to a "Cor." type motor coach only one control jumper was used and the Cor."s power jumper was not used.

Pullman coaches

The 23 all-steel Pullman kitchen cars were built by MCWF and were the first Pullman composites ever built; they were 68ft 9in long, tared 43 tons and had 12 first and 16 third class seats.  A 20kW dynamotor mounted on the underframe delivered a 110V power supply for the all-electric kitchen.

First class seats were arranged 1+1 and second class 2+2 either side of a central gangway and the internal layout was vestibule, 2-bay third class saloon, lavatory, 4 seat first class compartment, 2-bay first class saloon, pantry, kitchen, vestibule.  Interiors were sumptuous, ornate and very traditional, with elaborate panelling of hardwood from various parts of the Empire and metalwork finished in "satin silver".

Although the cars did, of course, have stock numbers ("schedule" numbers in Pullman parlance) they followed the Pullman practice for first class cars of displaying names, rather than numbers, prominently on the bodysides.  The names were  less formal in style than those typically used by Pullman elsewhere; instead of classical deities or exotic locations these cars bore popular contemporary girls' names.  The original allocation of Pullman cars to units was:

Other trailer coaches

The non-Pullman trailer coaches were constructed by the Southern's own workshops and closely resembled their steam-hauled equivalents, with teak body framing clad in galvanised steel sheeting and with asbestos millboard/teak plank/canvas covered roofs.  These too were fitted with equalising beam bogies.

All coaches except the trailer firsts were built on underframes longer than those used for contemporary steam stock or for suburban or semi-fast main line electric units.  Whereas steam frames were 61ft 7in over buffers and the suburban and 4 Lav main line units had standard EMU frames that were 64ft 6in over buffers, the underframes for the new express electric stock were 66ft 3in over buffers.  Exceptionally, perhaps because a half-compartment was considered inappropriate for first class customers, the trailer firsts were built on "steam" length underframes.

The trailer thirds had 8½ compartments, the trailer composites had five First- and three Third-class compartments and the trailer firsts had seven compartments.  All three types of trailer had a side corridor with high windows and bi-parting double doors to each compartment and a lavatory at each end of the coach.  Each compartment had its own external door with a self-balancing droplight and a ventilator above.

In service

The 6 Pul units continued to carry out the task for which they were designed for the for over 30 years, operating hourly services from London to Brighton and West Worthing and, as the electrified network expanded, to Eastbourne/Ore and to Littlehampton via Worthing.  A 6 Pul was often paired with a 6 Pan unit in order to provide a Pullman car on as many trains as possible without wasteful duplication; "Pul/Pan" was something of a standard formation for the heavier loading trains.

As a result of operating and staffing pressures during the 1939-45 war, Pullman car and other catering services were withdrawn from 22 May 1942.  The Pullman cars were removed from the units and stored and the Pul and Cit units operated as 5-Cor. until 1 May 1946.

In 1943 one of the trailer firsts in each 6 Cit was redesignated third class and the remaining firsts were later designated composites, with two first and five third class compartments.  The former "Cit" units were thereafter pooled with the "Pul" fleet.

From about 1956, in order to improve the riding quality of the motor coaches all the motor bogies of these units (and the Pan and Bel stock) were rebuilt without the equalizer bars and their coil springs, individual leaf-springs over the axle boxes were substituted.

The leading two cars of unit 3014 were destroyed in a collision at Eastbourne in 1958 and were replaced by two cars from disbanded unit 3032, disbanded following the same incident.

The Pul units were taken out of service from January 1964 as they were progressively replaced by new "Cig" units on Brighton line express services.  The best vehicles were used to form parts of 6-Cor. units 3041-3050.

Two of the fleet's Pullman cars subsequently evaded the scrapyard - "RUTH" is currently part of the Venice Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) UK reserve fleet and "BERTHA" is on the Swanage Railway.