NS Class 1500

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) Class 1500 were built by Metropolitan-Vickers in 1953-1955. They were originally built for British Railways (BR) as Class EM2 (later Class 77) for use on the Woodhead Route between Manchester and Sheffield. They were withdrawn by BR in 1969 and acquired by NS in 1969 following a locomotive shortage.

Class 1500
Preserved 1505 Ariadne at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.
Type and origin
Power typeElectric 1500 V DC OHL
BuilderMetropolitan Vickers
Serial number1065 onwards
Build date1953-1955
Total produced7
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • UICCo′Co′
 • CommonwealthCo-Co
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Driver dia.1,092 mm (42.99 in)
Loco weight102 t (100 long tons; 112 short tons)
Electric system/s1.5 kV DC OHL
Current pickup(s)Pantograph
Loco brakeAir
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Tractive effort200 kN (45,000 lbf)
Career
OperatorsNederlandse Spoorwegen
Class1500
Number in class6
Numbers1501-1506
Delivered1969
DispositionSee table

Description

Seven locomotives of this type were constructed. They had been withdrawn en masse in September 1968 by BR, and were stored at Bury in the hope of sale to a foreign railway.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. NS were so impressed that they purchased all seven locomotives.

The class was shipped to the Netherlands in September 1969 by ferry from Harwich to 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 consequently broken up for spare parts. The remaining six locomotives entered the workshops for various modifications, including the fitting of Dutch headlight clusters, new 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 Rotterdam Kijfhoek (freightyard) to Roosendaal.

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.

Fleet details
Key: Preserved Scrapped
NS number BR number Name Disposal
1955 1957
1501 27003 E27003 Diana Preserved in the Netherlands by Werkgroep 1501
1502 27000 E27000 Electra Preserved at Midland Railway - Butterley
1503 27004 E27004 Juno Scrapped (10/1986)
1504 27006 E27006 Pandora Scrapped (02/1985)
1505 27001 E27001 Ariadne Preserved at Museum of Science and Industry
1506 27002 E27002 Aurora Scrapped (02/1985)
- 27005 E27005 Minerva Used for parts by NS. Scrapped (11/1969)

Modelling the NS 1500 Class

Dutch manufacturer Philotrain offered a high quality certified small series brass model in the 1980s, which sold out fairly quickly. These models rarely appear for sale and consequently fetch premium prices. The model is in H0 scale.

Another Dutch manufacturer, KleiNSpoor, offered a resin and plastic based model, based on Athearn parts, as kits and ready-to-roll versions, for a considerably lower price then the Philotrain model, starting in the late 1990s. The model has been temporarily out of production as Athearn ceased delivery of parts, but it has now re-appeared in the KleiNSpoor catalogue as partially complete kit only. The model is in H0 scale.

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