The NS Class 1500 electric locomotives were acquired by Nederlandse Spoorwegen in 1969, following a locomotive shortage, and operated until 1986. They were built by Gorton Works in Manchester, England, between 1953 and 1955. The locomotives were first operated by British Railways (BR) as Class EM2 (later Class 77), hauling passenger services on the Woodhead line between and until 1968.
History Seven were constructed; the bodies and bogies were manufactured at Gorton Works, with electrical equipment supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers and fitted at nearby Dukinfield.
They were withdrawn en masse in September 1968 by BR and were stored at Bury in the hope of sale to a foreign railway. Around this time, NS had been suffering from a shortage of electric locomotives. In August 1969, Dutch officials inspected no. E27002, which then performed a test run between Sheffield and Reddish Electric Depot, where they had been based. NS subsequently purchased all seven locomotives.Netherlands Railways buys seven Co-Co dc electric locomotives from BR Railway Gazette 19 September 1969 page 686UK Traction Overseas Modern Locomotives Illustrated issue 235 February 2019 pages 60/61
The class was shipped by ferry to the Netherlands in September 1969, from Harwich International Port to Port of Zeebrugge. They were then tripped to Tilburg workshops for assessment and repairs. One locomotive, no. E27005 Minerva, was considered to be beyond economical repair and was broken up consequently for spare parts. The remaining six locomotives entered the workshops for various modifications, including the fitting of Dutch headlight clusters, new single-arm pantographs and a new braking system. Driving controls were also relocated from the left side of the cab to the right. They were renumbered in the 1500 series in the order they left their workshops, starting with E27003 as 1501 in May 1970 and ending with E27002 as 1506 in June 1971.
The 1500s were primarily used on services in the southern part of the Netherlands. Typical passenger duty was Den Haag to Venlo. Freight duties were mainly operated at night and included the Rotterdam Kijfhoek freight yard to Roosendaal route.Going Dutch: The Class 77 Story Rail Express issue 282 November 2019 pages 14-19
By the early 1980s, new electric locomotives in the form of Class 1600 were being introduced. The 1500s were therefore made obsolete and withdrawals started in 1985; the final locomotives were withdrawn in 1986.
Two were repatriated to England for preservation. In May 1989, 1502 returned to the Netherlands for the NS 150th celebrations, operating a number of tours.Electra sets sail to the Netherlands Rail issue 98 15 June 1989 page 12Electra success in Holland Rail issue 100 13 July 1989 page 17Major success for EM2 Society in The Netherlands Rail issue 103 24 October 1989 page 9
Fleet details Key:PreservedScrapped
NS numberBR numberNameDisposal19551957150127003E27003DianaPreserved at the Utrecht Railway MuseumEM2 proudly on display at Dutch Railway Museum The Railway Magazine issue 1433 August 2020 page 76150227000E27000ElectraPreserved at Midland Railway - Butterley, England1503 27004E27004JunoScrapped (10/1986)150427006E27006PandoraScrapped (02/1985)150527001E27001AriadnePreserved at the Science & Industry Museum, Manchester, England150627002E27002AuroraScrapped (02/1985)-27005E27005MinervaUsed for spare parts by NS. Scrapped (11/1969)
Notes
References
External links
Description of the class EM2 Society Werkgroep Loc 1501