Railway Herald
The Class 508 4 car EMU's built at BREL York Works in 1979-1980 were intended for service on the Wirral routes in Merseyside but were loaned to BR's Southern Region until 1984 due to building problems with their own Class 455 units. Approaching Clapham Junction on 3rd April 1984 Class 508 No. 508033 heads a service to Hampton Court shortly before tranferring to Merseyside as a 3 car unit. The remaining vehicle, TSO No. 71558 the second coach visible in the formation, was inserted into Class 455 No. 5719 in 1984 where it remains to this day. No. 508033 worked on Merseyside until 1998 when on becoming surplus was transferred back to the Southern Region along with 11 other units. Disbanded in 2012 the remaining TSO No. 71515 was scrapped at Eastleigh Works in August 2013 while both DMSO vehicles No. 64724 and No. 64681 were sold to the Fire service College at Moreton-in-the-Marsh during 2012.
Bob Woolnough
