Suburban or main line?

As the Southern Railway extended its electrification programme beyond the London inner suburban area in the 1930s, longer journey times and lower traffic densities were reflected in the company's electric multiple unit (EMU) fleet requirements.

Whether new or converted, the fleets for local services on the expanding network were built on the same SR-standard 62ft underframes as the company's suburban stock and had identical traction, braking and control systems.  The various types could therefore work in multiple with each other and with suburban units; a factor that gave the Southern considerable flexibility with train formations.

Not all of the newly-electrified routes could justify prestige, wholly-new rolling stock for local services, nor was there always sufficient traffic to justify the use of 3-car suburban motor units on these routes.

Built to meet a need for cost-effective 2-car units but otherwise similar to contemporaneous conversions of existing locomotive-hauled stock for suburban EMU fleets, the 2 Nol units exemplified the blurred distinction between the Southern's suburban stock and its fleets for stopping services elsewhere on the electrified network.

The type code "2 Nol. - 2-car, no lavatory" distinguished the units from the "4 Lav. - 4 car, with lavatory facilities" units built in 1931 for semi-fast services on the Brighton main line.

Units 1813-1862

The first batch of 2 Nol units, numbered 1813-62, were built in 1934-35, preceding the final batches of 3-car suburban motor units, which they closely resembled.  The 2 Nol units started their working lives on the South Coast, where they replaced suburban units that had been working the Brighton-West Worthing service.  The 2 Nol units also operated local services on newly-electrified routes from Horsted Keynes to Seaford via Haywards Heath and Lewes and from Brighton to Seaford or Eastbourne/Ore via Lewes.

Units 1863-90

Two further 2 Nol batches were built in 1936, units 1863-82 to replace 3-car motor units on Waterloo-Windsor services and 1883-90 (nominally) for the Staines-Chertsey-Weybridge electrification extension.  These units enabled both the Windsor and Weybridge branches to be served by portions of semi-fast trains from Waterloo that split and joined at Staines.

Conversion

The units' bodywork was of LSWR origin, altered at Eastleigh and mounted on SR-standard 62ft Lancing-built underframes with standard motor and trailer bogies.

The Driving Motor Brake Thirds (DMBT) had 7 non-corridor compartments and a coupé (half-compartment) together with a newly-built SR standard driving cab and guard's van area.  The Driving Trailer Composites (DTC) had a new driving cab, six Third-class compartments and three First-class compartments.

As with the suburban and 4 Lav fleets the 2 Nol units had one motor bogie per motor coach with two type 339 traction motors with suburban gear ratios, rated at 275 hp each.  The earlier units had the original SR standard Metropolitan-Vickers electrical control gear mounted, as usual, at the rear of the driving cab but the final eight had the later SR standard English Electric underfloor-mounted control gear and a larger guard's van area.

In service

In 1940 the South Coast became an area barred to civilians without permits.  This reduced the number of 2-Nol units required for service in that area so some were placed in temporary storage.  Units 1847-1862 were later transferred to the London area to cover the permanent or temporary losses of suburban stock resulting from the bombing.

A measure originally intended to be temporary for the duration of the war, but which in fact became permanent, was the elimination of First-class from London area suburban trains.  The 2-Nol units working in the London area, 1847-1890, were accordingly re-classified Third-class only.

Several 2 Nol units were affected by war damage or accidents.  The driving trailer of unit 1828 was destroyed at Fratton in June 1941 and the unit was disbanded, with its motor coach transferring to suburban unit 1799.  Unit 1855 was involved in a blackout collision at Staines in November 1941.  Its trailer was scrapped and its DMBT transferred to suburban motor unit 1679.

The Metrovick-equipped 2 Nol units had smaller guard's compartments than the final build, which had underfloor-mounted English-Electric traction equipment.  In 1943-44 the van areas of the surviving South Coast units, 1813-27 and 1829-46, were expanded by incorporating the adjacent coupé third class compartment.  Most of the London-area Metrovick units were similarly altered between 1944 and January 1950, the only exceptions being 1855, 1869, 1873 and 1878 which, like the English-Electric units, retained their coupés to the end.

There was a severe post-war shortage of traction equipment so a number of Metrovick-equipped London area 2-Nol units ran temporarily as trailer sets, with shoes, shoebeams, leads and fuses removed so that their motors and control components could be used to keep pre-war suburban units in service.  These units were all restored as they were overhauled in 1946-48.

Units 1847-1850, which had been mainly deployed on the Eastern section, had their First-class compartments fully restored on overhaul in November 1948 and were reallocated back to the South Coast local services from December 1948.

1851-1890 remained in the London area and Third-class only, normally on the Windsor and Weybridge services as before.

Unit 1819 collided with a light engine at Eastbourne in January 1951 and 1838 apparently had an accident in the same year.  The DMBT of 1819 and the DTC of 1838 were broken up and 1838's DTC transferred to unit 1819.

The DTC of unit 1853 was destroyed by a collision and fire at Barnes in 1955 and its companion DMBT was subsequently broken up.

Four London area 2 Nol units, 1870, 1871, 1877 and 1878 were withdrawn in June and July 1956 and their underframes used for 4 EPB stock.  This left a total of 70 units; 34 in the London area and 36 on the South Coast.

Unit 1815 collided with a steam locomotive at Hastings in May 1957 - its badly damaged DMBT was replaced by the DMBT from unit 1872, which was disbanded.

The rest of the London area units, 1851-1890, were withdrawn between April 1957 and January 1958 and the underframes of these, together with two coastal units, were used as the basis for 2-HAP units 5601-5636, completed in 1957-58.

The remaining South Coast 2 Nol units were scheduled for withdrawal in 1958 and a collision at Lovers Walk depot in June 1958 was enough to bring forward the withdrawal of units 1819 and 1833.  However most of the others actually survived until 1959, mainly on London suburban services.  Following withdrawal, their underframes were used for 2-EPB units 5651-5684, all completed in 1959 and allocated to the Windsor and Weybridge services.  These were the last cars to be rebuilt on recovered pre-War underframes, and the last to have bodies built to SR design.