Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire

File:ElectricRailwayMuseum042012.jpg

The Electric Railway Museum April 2012

The Electric Railway Museum (formerly the Coventry Railway Centre) is located in Warwickshire, south-east of Coventry city, near to Coventry Airport and the village of Baginton. The heritage railway centre was also known as "The Airfield Line" as the railway was built on the site of a greenfield. The site is managed by the Electric Railway Museum Limited, and is home to a sizeable collection of preserved electrical multiple units, which is the most diverse and historically significant collection of EMUs in the UK, containing unique items that are the last survivors of once typical and numerous classes. In addition there are three small industrial electric locomotives two small industrial diesel locomotives and one small industrial petrol locomotive site along with some other railway vehicles, which are owned by third parties. The land is leased from Coventry City Council, though it is located just outside the city boundary and is in the county of Warwickshire.

History

Coventry Steam Railway Centre

The site was originally established, as the Coventry Steam Railway Centre, in 1986 by a group who set out to preserve Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 tank locomotive number 1857. The group established the site and located the loco and other collected items of motive power, rolling stock and infrastructure including Little Bowden Junction Midland Railway Signal Box there. The land was previously used as part of the municipal water treatment works and there was never any railway infrastructure there until the creation of the Centre.

Suburban Electric Railway Association

Never blessed with a large membership progress was slow and by the mid-1990s had slowed to near stop. The late nineties saw one of the original founders retire due to ill health and he sold his interest in the site to a consortium of Suburban Electric Railway Association (SERA) members, except the tank engine which was sold to another railway. By 2004 the other founders had called it a day and SERA took over sole running of the site's future.

Electric Railway Museum

In 2009 the responsibility of managing the site passed to Electric Railway Museum Limited, a charitable company which had been established in 2008 to create a permanent home for preserving and representing Britain's electric railway heritage. With this development the original Coventry Railway Centre Limited company was wound up and its assets passed to Electric Railway Museum Limited. The site is open to the public, group and individual visits can be admitted by prior booking.

Track layout

The track layout comprises two three road fans of sidings. Those at the end of the site adjacent to the Midlands Air Museum are complete with a headshunt that runs through a 40-metre cutting that was excavated by the members of the original steam centre in the early nineties. The sidings nearest Rowley Road are unconnected at the time of writing. The sidings are protected by an inner fence to create a secure compound to deter unwelcome visitors.

Facilities

Other improvements made to the site by Electric Railway Museum in late 2009 include the provision of mains electricity on site and state of the art CCTV equipment.

Stock

The vast majority of items not being actively restored are sheeted over to protect them from rusting, vandalism, and other damage.

Electrical Multiple Units

Overhead EMUs

• BR Class 307 Vehicle 75023 (DT) Br blue. Built in 1955.
• BR Class 308 Vehicle 75881 (DTCoL)
• BR Class 309 Units 960 101 & 960 102
• BR Class 312 Vehicles 78037 (DTCoL) and 71205 (TSO)
• BR Class 370 Vehicle 49006 (NDM)

3rd Rail Southern Region

• BR Class 405 4Sub unit 4732 Vehicle nos: 12795-12354-10239-12796
• BR Class 414 2Hap unit 4311 Vehicle nos: 61287-75407
• BR Class 416 2EPB units 932053 and 6307
• BR Class 457 unit 7001 vehicle 67300

3rd Rail Midland Region.

• BR Class 501 2 car unit formed DMBS vehicle 61183 + DTBS vehicle 75186
• BR Class 503 unit 28690+29720+29289

Others

• Liverpool Overhead Railway Rebuilt First Class Trailer Car No. 7

Locomotives

Petrol Locomotive

• F.C. Hibberd 4wd Petrol Mechanical b. 1944 Wks. No. 2895 (Awaiting restoration)

Diesel Locomotives

• Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 Diesel Electric 165DE b. 1950 Wks. No. 268881 "Mazda" (Operational)
• Ruston & Hornsby 4wd Diesel Mechanical 88DS b. 1953 Wks. No. 338416 "Crabtree" (Undergoing restoration)

Electric Locomotives

• Spondon Power Station No. 1 = 4wd battery/Overhead Electric Loco b. 1935 English Electric Wks. No. E905 (Operational)
• Kearsley Power Station No. 1 = Bo-Bo Overhead 550vDC Electric Loco b. 1928 Hawthorn Leslie Wks No. 3682 (Awaiting restoration)
• Heysham Power Station No. 1 = Bo-Bo Battery Electric Loco b. 1945 Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Wks No. 7284 "Doug Tottman" (Operational)

Carriages

• No. 135 City & South London Railway Wood Body Carriage
• No. 163 City & South London Railway Steel Body Carriage

Gallery

• English Electric E905 (6243717021).jpg

  English Electric "Spondon No. 1" E905

• Ruston & Hornsby 268881 (6243667561).jpg

  Ruston 0-4-0DE No. 268881 "Mazda"

• Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 7284 (6250860062).jpg

  RSH No. 7284 "Doug Tottman"

• Kearsley power station 9m07.JPG

  Hawthorn Leslie Kearsley Power Station No. 1

• Ruston & Hornsby 338416 (6244233212).jpg

  Ruston 88DS 4wd No. 338416 "Crabtree"

• Hibberd Petrol Loco (7652242382).jpg

  Hibberd 4wd No. 2895

• 

  British Rail Class 457, unit 7001, vehicle 67300

• British Rail Class 503 (DTS number 29289).JPG

  British Rail Class 503, DTS no. 29289.

External links

• Electric Railway Museum Limited - Site Managers as well as owners of the Class 309 units, SR 2-EPB Unit, Class 307, Class 308 and custodians of Spondon No.1 Locomotive.
• Suburban Electric Railway Association - Custodians of many other items of stock on site.