Britain Rail

Class 319

 

Shortly before the June 1986 formation of Network SouthEast, the London & SouthEast Business Sector had set the ball rolling on two important Southern Region infrastructure projects: the Bournemouth to Weymouth electrification, and the reopening of Snow Hill Tunnel, the latter being situated between Farringdon and Blackfriars stations, running under Smithfield Meat Market. Both schemes heralded the procurement of new rolling stock: the South Western Division was to receive a BR Mk 3-derived EMU, allowing a service to be run on this territory which could legitimately be referred to as ‘’Inter-city’’. The Central and South Eastern Divisions were not only set to receive new rolling stock, but as a result of Snow Hill Tunnel’s re-opening, the networks were to see new direct services to and from the Midland Region. In brief, Snow Hill Tunnel had been in existence since January 1866, when the LC&DR had extended its running lines from Ludgate Hill, to meet the rails of the Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon. Freight and passenger services between the regions operated over this useful stretch of line, but wartime economies saw the latter cease permanently on 3rd April 1916. Freight continued through Snow Hill Tunnel thereafter, not ceasing until 1969, coinciding with the closure of the original 1864 Blackfriars railway bridge.

By the end of 1986, track relaying and signalling through Snow Hill Tunnel had been completed, and in the following year, orders were to be placed for a new EMU fleet to operate over the revived route. BREL York was awarded the contract to initially construct twenty dual-voltage four-vehicle units, of which would become ‘’Class 319’’. At the time, EMU design was based around the successful BR Mk 3 coach profile pioneered during the HST construction programme (indeed, classes 317/318/319/320/321 and 456 are also Mk 3-based). The Southern Region presented electric power in the form of the 750 Volts D.C. third rail, whilst the Midland Region had 25Kv overhead wires in place, hence the requirement for Class 319 units to be equipped with both a pantograph and third rail collecting shoes. The type had a top operating speed (at least on paper) of 100 MPH and 90 MPH on A.C. and D.C. systems respectively. The first unit had been completed by Autumn 1987, and in the Summer of 1988, the construction of a further twenty of the type was authorised by the Treasury, bringing a fleet total of forty. However, this was set to increase once again. The December 1988 Clapham Junction crash had seen six Mk 1 units written off. Consequently, in that same month, the government authorised British Rail to place an emergency order for an additional six Class 319 units to fill the breach, this small batch being completed the following year.

In the meantime, the Thameslink service through Snow Hill tunnel had begun, all Class 319 units produced so far offering only Standard Class seating. The Summer 1988 timetable, introduced in May, at that time included the South Eastern Division:

By 1991, service alterations included the addition of: 

The opening of St Pauls Thameslink (later ‘’City Thameslink’’) station on 29th May 1990 had been preceded four months earlier by the closing of the site at Holborn Viaduct. To improve service frequency on the instantly popular Snow Hill Tunnel route, a further order had been placed in 1989 with BREL York for an additional fourteen Class 319 units, again all with Standard Class seating, bringing the fleet total to sixty. All examples were allocated to Selhurst Depot.

 

 

No. 319021 was depicted at Bromley South in July 1988, the first year of operation through Snow Hill

Tunnel. The unit is bound for Sevenoaks, which at that time was included within the ''Thameslink''

timetable. In 1997, this unit was dispatched to Wolverton Works for conversion to subclass 319/3.

David Glasspool Collection

 

 

Un-refurbished No. 319004 trundled into Gatwick Airport on 4th December 2004, with a service

to Brighton. The livery it wears was that first applied by Connex South Central to those units

which became part of the ''Connex Express'' pool (consequently being re-classified 319/2).

David Glasspool

 

 

From late 1994 onwards, when ''Thameslink'' became a standalone shadow franchise in the run up

to privatisation, NSE livery began giving way to an all-over plain white scheme. The latter had a

symbol depicting the London skyline superimposed, complete with the word ''Thameslink'' in plain

blue. An uninspiring scheme, this swiftly became dubbed the ''Graffiti'' livery, and it weathered

badly. By 1997, this itself started being replaced by the livery seen in the above picture, worn by

No. 319437 on the approach to Gatwick Airport on 4th December 2004. David Glasspool

 

 

An eight vehicle formation, unit No. 319371 trailing, is seen departing Gatwick Airport on 4th

December 2004 with a Bedford to Brighton service. The class does not incorporate end gangways

for the connection of passages between units, but cab front doors are still present for use during

emergencies. David Glasspool

 

 

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