#3476
British Rail Class 504
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail· from 1959· class of 26 British 2-car electric multiple units
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3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Class 504 M77170 and M65450 (crop): David Ingham· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. British-Rail-Class-504: No machine-readable author provided. Spsmiler assumed (based on copyright claims).· Public domain
- 3. British Rail Class 504 ManVic prior to Metrolink: No machine-readable author provided. Spsmiler assumed (based on copyright claims).· Public domain
what is it?
The British Rail Class 504 was a unique type of electric multiple unit that ran on 1,200 V DC third rail with side-contact current collection. All other mainline UK third rails have the electric "shoe" on top of the rail. The type was used only on the Bury Line between Manchester and Bury.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 67 years ago, in 1959.
- 421 kW is about 5 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 40.5 m long: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 32 years (1959–1991).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1959
- in service from
- 1959
- retired
- 1991
- status
- retired
- number built
- 26
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail
- operators
- British Rail
- top speed
- 105 km/h
- power
- 421 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 1,200 V DC side contact third rail
- formation
- 2 cars per trainset, DMBS+DTS, Driving Trailer Second
- length
- 40.5 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970832, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 504 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.