Southern Electric Group Kent Coast Electrification Scheme (Part 9)

4Cep Refurbishment

The refurbishment of the 4Cep fleet is undoubtedly the largest single scheme to have affected the railways of Kent since electrification. The project originated in the mid-1970s when, owing to the financial difficulties then facing British Rail and the overall rolling stock situation, it became apparent that the Cep/Beep fleet would have to have their working lives extended beyond the book life of 25 years, to around 40 years. It was considered most unlikely that finance for replacement stock would be made available before the turn of the century.

At the same time, consideration had to be given to the fact that the units had Mk 1 interiors. Mk 2 stock had been in service in other parts of the country since 1965, and a 4Cep was often the first BR vehicle which visitors from the Continent encountered on arrival. There was thus an urgent need to improve the units’ standard of accommodation.

In 1975 unit 7153 was chosen as the prototype for refurbishing. This was to allow for the development of methods and techniques for dealing with the other units. The exercise also permitted financial forecasting to predict the cost of refurbishing all the units, and to see whether revised designs could reduce maintenance costs.

The work on 7153, which was carried out at Eastleigh Works, was extensive. The interiors of the vehicles were modified so that all varnished wood or painted surfaces were replaced with damage-resistant surfaces of plastic laminate, which can be easily cleaned. Glass reinforced plastic was used for false ceiling panels, and aluminium for floor edge coverings. The InterCity 70 seat was used, this being the seat which had been used in Mk 2e/f hauled stock introduced shortly before. Seats had loose covers; orange in first class and green in second. Cleaning of such seat covers is very simple.

Fluorescent tubed were employed to bring the illumination in saloons up to current standards. For ease of cleaning, the lamp installations were integrated with the ceilings. No diffusers were fitted over the tubes. Incandescent lamps were retained in compartments.

Double glazed windows were fitted in the passenger accommodation, but sliding ventilators were retained. An improved heating system was installed and glass fibre used to improve thermal insulation of the vehicles. Public address was fitted.

Modifications to individual vehicle types were as follows:

• MBSOs became MSOs (motor second open), with the guard’s van being converted into an extra 8-seat bay; a vestibule at the outer end gave access to the driving cab.
• TSK became a TSOL (trailer second open lavatory), with the seating now in one saloon, rather than in compartments.
• TCK became a TBCK (trailer brake composite side corridor with toilet), with the 2 inner most second class compartments being replaced by a guards van, and the remaining second class compartment became ‘unclassified’, being fitted with first class seats but available to second class passengers. There was less leg room than in a standard first class compartment.

Modern gangways were provided at unit ends and Commonwealth bogies replaced non-powered Mk 4 bogies. Control equipment was modified to be similar to 1963-stock and improvements were made to the driving cabs. These included provision of electrically-heated, impact resistant windscreens, improved heating and higher intensity instrument illumination.

7153 was displayed to the Press at Waterloo on 10^th November 1975 and, after a period of tests (particularly concerned with lighting problems), began public service in February 1976. Finance for further refurbishing was not immediately available. Work on the £21m. programme (1977 prices) began in 1979, the work being carried out at Swindon Works.

There were various differences between production refurbished units and 7153, the most noticeable being the provision of hopper ventilators. Internally a revised style of false ceiling and lighting were adopted, and internal gangway doors were removed. Second class seats have orange grey striped seat covers in place of green, but first class retains orange, although some units recently have received a dark red striped pattern. Windscreen washers were provided for the driver’s windows.

Units with 1951-type control equipment retained this, but modifications to the heating circuits resulted In differences between the motor coaches in each unit which are now designated No.1 and No.2 within each unit, as with the 1957 stock.

The units were renumbered as they passed through Swindon, the original intention being that 6-figure unit numbers would be used, to conform with CM&EE national policy. The units would have been numbered 411501 to 411608. The renumbering would be carried out in the order in which units were refurbished, as follows:

The 6-figure numbers were only applied to the earlier units of the main batch to be returned (411501/02/06-19 and 411598-608), other units having just the last 4 digits, to conform with standard SR practice. No provision was made for the renumbering of 7153 which retained that number. While refurbished units were in the minority they were shown in certain operating documents as 4Cep(R). This was so they could be diagrammed to work particular services, notably boat trains.

Refurbishment of the 4Bep’s was delayed while catering policy was decided. With the withdrawal of South Eastern Division (SED) catering services from September 1981 it was decided to retain just 7 4Bep’s, to replace 4Big’s on South Western Division (SWD) services between Waterloo and Portsmouth which would in turn replace 4Bep’s from the Central Division (CD). 12 loco-hauled Mk 1 TSOs were converted for multiple-unit working and refurbished to replace buffet cars. These vehicles, together with various spare vehicles, enabled 4Cep’s 1609-21 and 4Bep’s 2301-07 to emerge from Swindon. The retained buffet cars are all Phase 2 vehicles which have been renumbered. The first 4Bep entered service on the SWD in the autumn of 1983. (Refurbished 4Bep units never operated in normal service on the SED.

4 of the refurbished 4Cep’s (units 1556-1558/1560) were further reformed In autumn 1983, into 4Tep’s (temporary 4Bep). These comprise 3 refurbished coaches and an unrefurbished 4Bep buffet car in place of the TSOL. Numbered 2701-04 4Tep were based at Brighton to cover for 4Big units which were undergoing a programme of asbestos removal. The 4Bep buffets in these units were thus the last unrefurbished main line Kent Coast electrification vehicles to remain in traffic.

While the 4Cep’s look assured of a long future, stretching into the next century, 2Hap units have a different story to tell and are no more as far as the railways of Kent are concerned (although reformed as 4Cap they are still to be found on some SED services). During the past 10 years these units have been subject to transfer to both CD and SWD, downgrading of accommodation in certain units, reformation to 4Cap, replacement by newer stock and withdrawal.

By the summer of 1972 unit 6001 had been transferred to Wimbledon. In 1974 units 6001-21/24-42 had their first class accommodation downgraded to second and became ‘2 Sap’s. Units 6043-52 were similarly downgraded in 1977. The units were renumbered 5901-51 (in order) and operated principally on Waterloo—Weybridge/Windsor service. They had their first class facilities reinstated in 1980 and resumed their original numbers. 2Hap’s 6022/23 were being used for coupler tests and were thus not dealt with.

To replace the transferred and reclassified units, new 4Vep outer suburban units were used. This type of unit was introduced in 1967 as part of the Bournemouth electrification scheme, and the final batch of units, numbers 7863-94, were allocated to Ramsgate depot, delivery being from July 1973 to May 1974. This original allocation of 32 units has been augmented by the transfer of units from earlier batches, there being 41 units allocated to Ramsgate In 1977, rising to 56 in 1983.

In May 1980, 110 2Hap units remained at Ramsgate, with 45 allocated to Brighton for working Coastway services. May 1982 saw the beginning of the end for the 2Hap’s with 25 units being withdrawn and a further 48 being reformed as 4 car units, 4Cap (Coastway Hap), these later being allocated to Brighton. The reformation was carried out by semi-permanently coupling pairs of units together with the brake vans in the centre of each unit. Some equipment was removed from the now-unused driving cabs, and one brake van was designated for mails and parcels only, the other being for the guard’s use.

Ramsgate retained 77 2Hap units, but this had been reduced to 58 by May 1983, and just 6 a year later, when the 4Caps were reallocated to Ramsgate. 25 other 2Hap’s remained in service, being based at Wimbledon. In October 1984 the remaining 2Hap’s were transferred to Wimbledon and by spring of 1985, of the 171 original units, only 71 remain; 48 in the guise of 4Caps and 23 as 2Hap’s, together with a few units in departmental service).