#2332
British Rail Class 505
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Metro-Cammell· from 1931· introduced in 1931, jointly with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the Manchester area
what is it?
British Railways Class 505 were 1,500 V DC electric multiple units (EMUs) introduced in 1931 by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR). Although assigned to TOPS Class 505 by British Railways, these units were withdrawn before the TOPS numbering system came into common use for multiple units, and the Class 505 designation is very rarely used. Following the 1923 Grouping, the MSJAR company was owned jointly by the LMS and LNER. It operated a 13.7 km (8+1⁄2 miles) route between Manchester London Road (now Manchester Piccadilly) and Altrincham in Cheshire.
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 95 years ago, in 1931.
- Seats 252: 5 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Served for 40 years (1931–1971).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1931
- in service from
- 1931
- retired
- 1971
- status
- retired
- number built
- 30
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Metro-Cammell
- operators
- Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway, British Rail
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC overhead
- formation
- 3-car set or 6-car set or 7-car set
- capacity
- 252 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970834, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 505 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.