British Rail Class 501

Despite British Railways having recently built modern sliding door trains for electric suburban services in Manchester and Liverpool and on the Great Eastern Main Line (classes 506, 503 and 306 respectively), it was decided that these trains would closely resemble the EPB stock of the Southern Region, which featured individual passenger-operated doors located at each seating bay.Initially these trains were painted in the standard mid-green livery adopted for electric multiple unit stock at nationalisation.This work was carried out at Croxley Green workshops and, though quite neatly done, the overhead luggage racks which had been attached to the partitions were not replaced, leaving nowhere to put things like coats and umbrellas.Services between London Euston/Broad Street and Watford and on the Croxley Green branch were subsequently replaced by sliding door Class 313 units.Furthermore, the London Underground Bakerloo line, which initially shared the system from Queens Park to Watford, was very substantially cut back and ultimately withdrawn north of Harrow & Wealdstone.The substantial peak services operated by the units from London's Broad Street terminus, to Richmond and Watford, were completely withdrawn during their lifetime.This was rebuilt to EPB standards and converted for Departmental Use in 1976 as Test Coach “Mars” ADB975032, based at Strawberry Hill, for commissioning refurbished Class 410/411/412 EMUs, but was scrapped on site by MRJ Phillips (contractors) in August 1987.
A London-bound Class 501 train calls at Harrow and Wealdstone. The B1 headcode signifies that this train worked the Euston-Watford (and vice versa) service.
A refurbished Class 501 train awaits departure time at Broad Street station, shortly before the latter's closure. The B4 headcode signifies that this train worked the Broad Street—Richmond (and vice versa) service.
Harrow & WealdstoneBroad StreetWatfordPrimrose HillBritish RailwaysEastleigh WorksLNWR electric unitsBritish RailCroxley GreenWatford DC LineNorth London LineTraction motorsElectric system(s)third railCurrent collector(s)UIC classificationBogiesBraking system(s)Coupling systemMultiple workingTrack gaugestandard gaugeelectric multiple unitsLondon Midland Region3rd and 4th railLondon EustonRichmondCroxley Green branchLondon UndergroundBakerlooDistrictEastleighAshfordManchesterLiverpoolGreat Eastern Main LineEPB stockSouthern Regioncamshaft controllersrail blueCroxley Green depotClass 416North Woolwich stationClass 313Class 97/7 battery locomotivesClass 936Electric Railway Museum, WarwickshireElectric multiple units of Great Britain316 (I)316 (II)316 (III)331 (II)350 (II)803 (II)LB&SCR CPLB&SCR CWLB&SCR SLMR Lancaster units482 (I)482 (II)499 (I)LMS electric unitsLNER Tyneside unitsLOR electric unitsLYR electric unitsMersey Railway electric unitsMSJ&AR electric unitsNER electric unitsW&CR electric unitsSouthern Railway499 (II)1959 design1972 designA-TrainAventraCitylinkCivityD-TrainDesiroElectrostarCoradia JuniperNetworkerVelaroBi- or tri-mode unitBritish electric multiple unitsList of locomotivesList of diesel multiple unitsList of electric multiple unitsList of departmental multiple unitsRolling stock of Network SouthEast