Class 308
by Bill Wilson
Class 308/1
The first batch of 33 units were built in 1961, numbered 133-165 and later acquiring class numbers as
308133-165. These units were built to operate commuter services on the GE main line from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Witham, Colchester,
Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton. Each unit was formed of four carriages;
two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor coach.From 1981-83 the units were refurbished, which included opening out the compartments and fitting gangways between the carriages, new seats and lighting and moving first class seating from the intermediate trailer to one of the driving trailers. In this modified form, the technical description of the formation was BDTCOL+MBSO+TSOL+DTSO. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:
75878-75886 and 75896-75919 - BDTCOL
61883-61915 - MBSO
70611-70643 - TSOL
75887-75895 and 75929-75952 - DTSO
Image by Mark Armstrong
Class 308/2
A second batch of nine units, numbered 313-321, were built for boat
train services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Line in 1962,
serving Cruise Liners calling at Tilbury. These units were later
reclassified as Class 308/2. Each unit was formed of four carriages; two outer driving
trailers, an intermediate trailer, and a motor luggage van. The
technical description of the formation was BDTS+MLV+TC+DTS. Individual
carriages were numbered as follows:75920-75928 - BDTS
68011-68019 - MLV
70644-70652 - TC
75953-75961 - DTS
When Tilbury Docks closed as a cruise liner terminal, these units were withdrawn from service, but returned as postal units In 1983 three units were formed from the nine withdrawn 308/2's and rebuilt as parcels units by removing the intermediate trailer and converting the DTS to a DTLV. These were renumbered to 308993-995, and later joined by 308991.
308991: 75924 / 68015 / 75957
308993: 75926 / 68017 / 75959
308994: 75927 / 68018 / 75960
308995: 75928 / 68012 / 75961
These units were replaced by three newly converted Class 302/9 parcels units in 1992, although several individual vehicles driving had been replaced by class 302's in the existing formations.
Image by Bill Wilson
Class 308/3
Finally, a third batch of 3-car units were built in 1962 for suburban
services from London Liverpool Street to Chingford and Enfield.
They were numbered 453-455, following on from the Class 305/1 units,
which were numbered in the range 401-452.Unlike the first batch, these units contained no first-class seating. Each unit was formed of three carriages; two outer driving trailers, and an intermediate motor coach. The technical description of the unit formation was BDTS+MBS+DTS. Individual carriages numbers were as follows:
75741-75743 - BDTS
61689-61691 - MBS
75992-75994 - DTS
These units were withdrawn in 1986 and were never refurbished.
IL – Ilford Car Sheds
EM – East Ham
NH - Neville Hill (Leeds)
One unit went through the sand drag at the end of the down loop at Broxbourne whilst working the 03.37 Liverpool St -Bishops Stortford service in 1976 and ended up in a field for nearly 6 months.
By the early 1990s however, only the Class 308/1 units were still in passenger service. These were gradually replaced on GE services by the new Class 321 units. Some of the displaced units were transferred to the LTS line, whilst others were transferred to the West Midlands to work commuter trains pending the introduction of new Class 323 units. The LTS units were later displaced by Class 312 units
In 1994/95, the lines from Leeds to Bradford, Skipton and Ilkley were electrified but no new stock was been ordered. Instead, BR decided to overhaul some Class 308 units for use on these services. The work was carried out at Doncaster Works, and involved reducing the unit length to three carriages, with the removal of the intermediate trailers, which were scrapped. The trains were also painted in the attractive WYPTE maroon and cream livery.
In 1996, with the privatisation of Britain's railway network, the Class 308 fleet passed into the ownership of the Angel Trains and were leased to Regional Railways North East. This became the Northern Spirit franchise and later Arriva Trains Northern.
By the late 1990s, it was clear that the elderly Class 308 units needed replacing. Due to their age, they were increasing unreliable and expensive to maintain. Replacement came in the form of sixteen new 3-car Class 333 units, which were introduced from 2000. They slowly replaced the Class 308 units, which were withdrawn and sent for storage at Pig's Bay near Shoeburyness. The final three units, nos. 308138/157/158, were withdrawn in late 2001, and were sent for scrap at Immingham. Since then, the stored units have slowly been scrapped at various locations, with the final vehicles disposed of in 2004.
Image by Bill Wilson
Image by Bill Wilson
Image by Dave Root.
This vehicle was from 308136 which worked out of Clacton and then , as can be seen from the WYPTE livery, was one of the units sent to work around Leeds
308/1 (133-165) BDTS-MBS-TC-DTS later BDTCOL-MBSO-TSOL-DTSO when refurbished
308/2 (313-321) BDTS-MLV-TC-DTS later BDTSOL-MBG-DTLV in parcels use
308/3 (453-455) BDTS-MBS-DTS
| Type | Number range | Built / Year |
| BDTC | 75878-75886 and 75896-75919 | York 1961 |
| MBS | 61883-61915 | York 1961 |
| TS | 70611-70643 | York 1961 |
| DTS | 75887-75895 and 75929-75952 | York 1961 |
| BDTS | 75924-75928 | York 1961 |
| MLV | 68012-68018 | York 1961 |
| DTLV | 75957-961 | York 1961 |