British Rail Class 403


The Southern Railway gave the designation 5-BEL to the five-car all-Pullman electric multiple units which worked the prestigious Brighton Belle trains between London Victoria and Brighton. These units survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 403. Between 1933 and 1935 the units were designated 5-PUL.

Construction

The SR electrified the London Victoria to Brighton line in the early 1930s, and full electric services commenced over the route from 1 January 1933. For the high-profile Southern Belle Pullman train three five-car units, consisting entirely of Pullman cars, were built. All 15 cars were built by Metropolitan Cammell. In June 1934 the Southern Railway renamed the Southern Belle as the Brighton Belle.
As they were Pullman cars, owned by the independent Pullman Car Company, the individual carriages were numbered in its series, taking numbers 279 to 293, and the first class cars were given women's names while the third class cars carried less-inspiring Car No xx designations, derived from the second and third digits of the Pullman Car Company's number. However, the units together were allocated numbers in the SR series, originally taking 2051-2053, which was revised in January 1937 to 3051-3053.

Formations

Three different car types were built - Driving Motor Brake Parlour Third, Trailer Parlour First with Kitchen, and Trailer Parlour Third. Initial formations of these units were as follows:
Unit NumbersDMBPTTPFKTPFKTPTDMBPT
2051 / 3051288 Car No 88279 Hazel282 Doris286 Car No 86289 Car No 89
2052 / 3052290 Car No 90280 Audrey284 Vera287 Car No 87291 Car No 91
2053 / 3053292 Car No 92281 Gwen283 Mona285 Car No 85293 Car No 93

Withdrawal and preservation

The last Brighton Belle train ran on 30 April 1972, and the three 5BEL units were withdrawn. However all 15 cars were sold into private ownership, though no unit was kept together as a single entity. Instead they were split up and each vehicle was initially used as an individual Pullman car, the majority not in railway use. A number have been returned to service on the main line with the Belmond British Pullman, as hauled cars forming part of the British Pullman charter train. A campaign to return the Brighton Belle to mainline service was launched by the 5BEL Trust in 2008. By 2009, the trust had assembled a four-car set, having acquired cars from the North Norfolk Railway and VSOE. A fifth car, No.282 'Doris', was acquired from the Bluebell Railway in 2011 and a sixth, No.279 'Hazel' in 2012. After restoration, the Brighton Belle is expected to enter testing in Autumn/Winter 2018.
The table below sets out the current position:
Key:StoredIn serviceScrappedPreserved

NumberNameLocationNoteImage
279HazelRamparts, Barrow Hill5-BEL Trust, under restoration
280AudreyVSOE, in service
281GwenVSOE, in service
282DorisRamparts, Barrow Hill5-BEL Trust, to be restored
283MonaVSOE, stored
284VeraVSOE, in service
285Car No 855BEL Trust, under restoration
286Car No 86VSOE, stored
287Car No 87Ramparts, Barrow Hill5-BEL Trust, under restoration
288Car No 88Ramparts, Barrow Hill5-BEL Trust, under restoration
289Car No 89Little Mill Inn, Rowarth, DerbyshirePrivately owned,
290Car No 90Destroyed by fire in 1991
291Car No 91Ramparts, Barrow Hill5-BEL Trust, under restoration
292Car No 92VSOE, stored
293Car No 93Ramparts, Barrow HillVSOE, stored